Huge online response after local teen’s death
Posted October 12, 2012 7:26 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
PORT COQUITLAM (NEWS1130) – They’re expressing grief, anger, and an overwhelming outcry against bullying; the death of a young girl from Port Coquitlam has sparked a huge response online.
“Incredibly heartbreaking. People who think that bullying is not a big deal need to open their eyes,” reads one comment on Twitter.
“… be at peace beautiful soul … your story touched my heart,” reads another.
“As a mother, this made me cry. LOVE YOUR KIDS SO NO ONE ELSE CAN TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THEM,” another user adds.
The teen’s name, bullying, and efforts to stop it are trending across the country on Twitter as people react to the story and the stark, black and white video she posted online on September 7th.
A Facebook memorial page for the girl has already received more than 100,000 ‘likes.’
The 15-year-old committed suicide on Wednesday.
BC Coroners Service is investigating the death. Barb McLintock with the service says it can be complicated to deal with the suicide of a young person, but there’s a lot they have to look at.
“School issues; friend issues, or lack of friend issues, in terms of the bullying; any possible health issues [such as] physical or mental health, family issues,” she lists.
The goal being to make practical recommendations to prevent similar deaths.
“All our recommendations do have to be reasonable and practical,” she points out. “Sometimes, in cases like this, can be very hard to do… in terms of controlling the Internet.”
But she says it is something they will try to tackle.
Resources for kids and parents
The Crisis Intervention and Suicide Prevention Centre is available to help province-wide.
Stop A Bully is a national anti-bullying reporting system.
Kids Help Phone is available anytime for youth of all ages. Call toll-free 1-800-668-6868
