Local Bullying Prevention Task Force encourages conversations on empathy and mental wellness among youth and their families

The Tompkins County Bullying Prevention Task Force organized the United in Kindness event series. The series aims to raise the community’s awareness of bullying and provide more general mental health resources.

The series has been held throughout the month of October, which is National Bullying Prevention Month. Events ranged from art and baking contests to public reading circles and an educational seminar for parents in cyberbullying.

Overview of the task force

The task force was formed in 2019 and consists of Tompkins mental health and social services organizations. The list of groups involved is not fixed and therefore may change over time. Scott MacLeod, the cofounder of The Sophie Fund, a mental health nonprofit aimed at helping Tompkins youth, explained the importance of the task force.

“We know that bullying can lead to very severe consequences for people who are bullied, and it’s also important to remember that bullying harms the bully as well,” he said. “We were aware that this was a problem for our young people.”

During its first year, the task force led a rally in honor of World Day of Bullying Prevention. It has also held symposiums about cyberbullying, collaborating with some of the country’s leading experts. Since its formation, the task force has also worked to compile a collection of bullying prevention resources and programming for schools in the City of Ithaca.

United in Kindness

MacLeod, the coordinator of this year’s event series, discussed the importance of distinguishing between anti-bullying and bullying prevention. He said that bullying affects all parties involved.

“I think that research shows that that bullying themselves are going through a lot of issues,” he said. “Many people who are victimized become bullies as well, and that we really need to look at this holistically and not just make it about the bully and stopping the bully.”

One of the larger events of the event series is The Sophie Fund’s Annual Ithaca Cupcake Baking Contest — this year was the seventh contest. The contest welcomes people to engage in a friendly competition judged by culinary artists from the community. MacLeod said that the contest also introduces people to resources through a sort of “mini mental health fair.”

“We’re hoping that that helps in an indirect way, start conversations among people, among parents, a with their children, and just raise the consciousness of people,” he said. “It’s not something to run away from. We could talk about cupcakes and we could talk about mental health in the same sentence. We’re hoping to use it as a way of destigmatizing mental health in our community.”

Impact on the community

Family & Children’s Service of Ithaca and The Sophie Fund co-sponsored a free screening of Wonder Oct. 11 at Cinemapolis. The film follows Auggie Pullman, a middle schooler with facial differences, as he starts his first year in a mainstream school where he experiences bullying. Uma Delotsang, a sophomore in high school, attended the screening. She said she had seen the movie before and that it holds an important message.

“It happens every day still, online and in person. There are multiple variations of bullying,” Delotsang said. “There are always people like that who find enough cruelness to bully someone. I think it’s still important to acknowledge that it’s still around.”