One in four teens in middle and high school report being frequently bullied – and an estimated 160,000 children stay out of school on any given day because they are afraid of being bullied.
To combat this, Beaumont Children’s Hospital created Michigan’s first hospital-based, anti-bullying program: No Bullying Live Empowered, or NoBLE. The program, based out of the kids’ hospital in Royal Oak and also includes a crisis hotline, focuses on meeting the needs of youth who are exposed to bullying and believes that anyone involved in bullying is at risk for lifelong problems.
How the program works
The program is not only for children who have been bullied – but for any kid who’s been affected by bullying, either as a victim, witness or bully. There’s also counseling available for parents and guardians. At times, the parents/guardians may be asked specifically to participate in family sessions.
Initally, NoBLE offers individual, family and group counseling. However, as the program develops, support groups, educational opportunities, mentoring and other services will become available.
The number of counseling appointments varies depending on the case. After the initial analysis, as estimated number of visits needed may be provided, but that can be subject to change based on the individual’s need and response to the counseling.
In addition to regular counseling, those affected by bullying have access to a 24/7 bullying hotline operated by Common Ground, a nonprofit crisis intervention agency, which provides confidential crisis intervention, debriefing, information and referrals.
Bullying by the numbers
Here are some things you might not know about the frequency of bullying.
- Approximately 10% of children in the United States are bullied in the most traditional sense of the word.
- Somewhere between 80% and 90% of pre-adolescents facing ongoing psychological and physical harassment at some point in their school life that could be characterized as bullying under a broad definition.
- Some 23% of elementary school students in grades 4-6 described being bullied “several times or more” over a given year
- 8% of students in grades 6-10 revealed that they were bullied at least one time per week.
- One out of four teens in middle and high school reports being frequently bullied.
- An estimated 160,000 children stay out of school on any given day because they are afraid of being bullied.
