What we’re about….

Did you know that children who are abused by their peers are less likely to perform at their full potential both academically and socially? Sadly, children who are involved in peer abuse are also more likely to experience other negative consequences such as:

Depression

• Girl targets are 8 times more likely to become suicidal.

• Boy targets are 4 times more likely to become suicidal.

Self-injurious behaviors, like cutting their own skin

Substance abuse

Increased likelihood of arrest and incarceration

• Bullies identified by 9th grade are six times more likely to have a criminal conviction by age 24.

Increased likelihood to be abused as an adult

Less likely to protect their own children from abuse

Increased apathy for social injustice and cruelty

(Sources:  National Institutes for Health; US Department of Health and Human Services; National Mental Health Information Center; SafeYouth.org)

Unfortunately, by the time a child has come to the attention of a mental health professional, their situation has frequently reached a dangerous stage of crisis. 

As an organization, Buddies Not Bullies believes we have a responsibility to educate children, parents, and teachers about these effects and provide them with the skills necessary to successfully traverse the complexities of relationships.

Through “All In”, a prevention program designed to teach relational literacy, we tackle the problem with prevention services to meet the challenges that our children face as they navigate increasingly complex social situations: helping them to build the skills necessary to foster and sustain healthy relationships. “All In” responds to the growing number of children who are seen in mental health facilities struggling with peer abuse and mistreatment, also known as bullying.

Our passion for supporting children and families is an extension of our values and beliefs for the physical and mental safety of children. “All In” has been taught to hundreds of children, parents, and educators since our founding in 2005, and continues to be a ‘work in progress’ for those of us whose vision is to create a community of acceptance and inclusion.