NEWS RELEASE
BETHESDA SERVICES
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On Feb. 28 nearly 600 Bethesda staff members will sport their Choose Kindness shirts to show support for Pink Shirt Day to raise awareness of bullying in schools, workplaces, homes and online.
Chief Executive Officer, Paul McGowan shares, “As an organization that provides compassionate care, it’s important for our leadership and staff to present a unified stance against bullying. We support a demographic that can be particularly susceptible to bullying and mistreatment, so I see it as Bethesda’s responsibility to show our support and educate those we provide services to in any way that we can.”
Bethesda’s Children and Youth Services staff have developed a number of programs to do just that.
“Talking about bullying with children and youth who have special needs can help equip them with the confidence to recognize when it is happening and the knowledge about where they can go for help. Bethesda’s staff help bridge the gap on this difficult topic both with children and their families, giving them the tools to help navigate their social environments with greater resilience,” says Alyson Wilson, Director of Children and Youth Services at Bethesda.
Bethesda offers a number of programs with a focus on building friendships and learning how to identify and respond to bullying. Teaching kids how to handle bullying is essential for their emotional well-being, social development, and safety. It equips them with the skills and knowledge they need to cope with challenging situations and thrive in their interactions with others.
Bethesda TIPS for parents: Discuss and practice responses to bullying at home.
- Talk about the different types of bullying and what to do if your child sees bullying happening or is getting bullied themselves.
- Role play different situations (e.g., Sally punched John in the playground and you saw, what should you do?
What to do if you are being Bullied/Cyberbullied
- Reach out to people you can trust (a family member, relative, friend or teacher).
- Ask for support.
- Track it. Save messages, pictures, letters etc. of the bullying that is happening to you.
- Control your online presence – increase security/privacy settings.
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