Join us and... Stand Up for a Kinder Community

 

Tuesday, October 22nd
7:00 - 8:30 pm
Barrington Area Library
 

This powerful presentation is for middle and high school students, parents, educators and others interested in what can be done to end bullying.
 

BStrong Together is honored to partner with Humanity Rising, the Barrington Area Library, Barrington Youth & Family Services, AMITA Health, Samaritan Counseling Center, Bending Birch Counseling, Barrington's NAMI chapter and Advocate Health to bring Stand for the Silent co-founder, Kirk Smalley, to the Barrington Area Library on Tuesday, October 22nd at 7:00 pm.

The Oklahoma construction worker took the loss of his 11-year-old son Ty to suicide in May of 2010 and turned it into a anti-bullying crusade. Since Ty's death, Smalley and his wife Laura have stood before more than 1.5 million students to talk about the impact of bullying and to promote a message of respect, love, hope and aspiration to students.

Their educational program seeks to empower victims, to reform bullies through telling Ty's story, and to inspire kids who are onlookers to intervene.  The main lesson taught through the Stand for the Silent program is I AM SOMEBODY.

Through Kirk's message, middle and high school students who attend will learn first-hand about the damage caused by bullying, develop greater empathy for others, discover that they are not alone, learn how to stand up for themselves and others, and be empowered to help make a positive change in their school and community.

After Kirk's visit to Schaumburg's District 54 last year, Superintendent Andy DuRoss said, "This is a message of hope. We are empowering children to make better choices and be better people."

This powerful presentation on the impact of bullying and the importance of creating a culture of kindness and the individual worth of each person has been created for middle and high school students, parents, educators, and others concerned about the impact of bullying in our society and ways in which we can help.  To learn more about Stand for the Silent and Kirk's message, visit standforthesilent.org.

Join BStrong Together and Mandy Burbank from AMITA Behavioral Health as we talk about how parents, educators and other influential adults can help our children and teens to develop the social emotional skills needed to create a kinder, more empathetic and respectful community.

Participants will learn what it means to be an upstander and about the Green Dot Interpersonal Violence Prevention efforts at Barrington High School. We’ll also talk about what to do and the resources available in the community if someone you know is being bullied or is bullying someone else.

This event is for ALL parents and caregivers of any age childen.  Registration is not required for this event.

Question. Persuade. Refer.  Three simple steps anyone can learn to help prevent suicide.

Just like CPR, QPR is an emergency response to someone in crisis and can save lives. QPR is the most widely taught Gatekeeper training in the world. In just 90 minutes, you can learn how to save a life from suicide.

As our children and teens learn that it is okay to not be okay and that when they are struggling, they should reach out for help, we need to be sure that we have adults in the community prepared to respond.

BStrong Together is committed to helping to create this community of support for our children, families, and community members. QPR training aims to expand the safety net for those in crisis as more members of the community learn how to recognize the warning signs of a suicide crisis and how to question, persuade, and refer someone for help.