The Arc San Francisco Launches Anti-Bullying Campaign “It Stops With Us”
Learning center raising awareness about bullying in the LGBT and disability communities.
The Arc San Francisco kicked off a new anti-bullying campaign to raise awareness about bullying in the LGBT and developmental disability communities and to increase support for the nonprofit’s anti-bullying educational and leadership programs.
The campaign theme, “It Stops With Us,” runs throughout a new PSA featuring clients of The Arc and local city official Bevan Dufty who talk about their experiences being bullied and the devastating effects. The campaign will raise awareness and funds through social media and crowdfunding using the popular GoFundMe platform.
9 out of 10 LGBT youth have been bullied, according to the National Youth Organisation, and straight or gay, all clients of The Arc report that they have faced bullying throughout their lives. Bullying causes depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, absenteeism and a host of physical ailments.
Said Dr. Glenn Motola, CEO, “As a learning and leadership center for adults with developmental disabilities including autism and Down syndrome, The Arc must empower our clients to respond to bullying–non-violently and effectively. That’s why we are training new leaders, Arc Allies, who can defend and support their peers to stand up to bullying, whatever its form.”
Said Meredith Manning, Director of Communications, “Words we are all loathe to hear–like the “r-word” and worse–cut deep. But so do other bullying tactics like exclusion, cyber-attacks and physical force. Our goal is to create a new generation of client-leaders who have the tools they need to feel empowered, supported, accepted and respected.”
Anti-bullying programs at The Arc San Francisco are designed to build leadership skills and confidence while raising awareness about bullying in the wider community.
Bullying Stops With Us! from Meredith Manning on Vimeo.