
New Life Recovery
Center celebrates tenth
anniversary
Laura Eichenlaub (left) and Kat
McClinton (right) present a
plaque to Harriet Dorsey of
Blacksburg for her support of
the recovering community. Dorsey
was one of several community
members honored on Friday, June
11 during a reception and
ceremony held in celebration of
the New Life Recovery Center's
tenth anniversary. New Life is a
residential substance abuse
treatment facility operated by
New River Valley Community
Services. The anniversary
celebration was held at Radford
University's Muse Hall. For more
information on New Life,
click here.

Renowned diversity expert
visits New River Valley
Dr. Roosevelt Thomas, renowned
diversity expert and consultant
to numerous Fortune 500
companies, visited the New River
Valley on April 27 & 28. An
audience of nearly 200 attended
a diversity workshop led by
Thomas on April 28. His
visit/workshop was co-sponsored
by NRVCS and Virginia Tech's
Office of Multicultural Programs
and Services.

Father shares heartbreak
to educate
local parents about bullying, cyberbullying
By Mike Wade,
New River Valley Community Services
John Halligan issued a strong
warning for the more than 130 parents and community
members who turned out to hear him speak on the evening
of Thursday, April 15 in Christiansburg.
Bullying – whether it happens in a physical space or
cyberspace – should be taken seriously.
Halligan knows first-hand the devastating impact that
bullying can have when it isn’t addressed. He lost his
son, Ryan, to suicide in 2003 after he had been
ridiculed and humiliated by fellow students both in
school and online. Ryan Halligan was just 13 years old
at the time of his death.
The
Halligan family’s story has been told numerous times
through national media, including a recent episode of
The Oprah Winfrey Show. In the years that
have passed since Ryan’s suicide, John Halligan has been
on a crusade throughout the United States and Canada to
build greater public awareness and education about
bullying, cyberbullying and depression in young people.
“I
grew up on Long Island and when I was a kid if you had a
problem with someone you took it outside and handled
it,” Halligan said. “But today it’s not about throwing
punches, it’s about throwing words…And I don’t know how
you defend yourself against a rumor.”
When
he first learned that his son was constantly being
picked on, Halligan said he taught his son the “Karate
Kid” method of self-defense. Although Ryan did
eventually defend himself physically, it didn’t stop the
bullying or his slide into a deep depression.
“I
should have seen this train wreck coming,” stated
Halligan. “I chalked up Ryan’s signs of depression up to
typical teenage angst.”
“Ryan never really enjoyed school to begin with,”
Halligan continued. “He was in special ed most of his
life and struggled academically…I thought he just needed
a pep talk or a hug. He needed a lot more.”
What
Halligan and his wife, Kelly, didn’t realize prior to
Ryan’s tragic death was the extent of bullying that he
was being subjected to online. In hindsight, Halligan
said that allowing his son to have a computer in his
bedroom was a “terrible mistake.”
“Every second spent on that stupid computer was a missed
opportunity for that kid to have a conversation with his
Mom and Dad,” declared Halligan, who worked for IBM for
more than 20 years. “…And we never thought to ask, ‘Is
my son communicating with someone we don’t know?’”
Because he had insisted that his children use a single
password for any online accounts, Halligan was able to
gain full access to Ryan’s computer – including saved
files and a number of online chats. Since there was no
suicide note, Halligan explained that technology was his
only way of putting together the pieces of the puzzle
surrounding Ryan’s death.
“Once I logged on, I was stunned by what I saw,” said
Halligan. “And I was amazed by how open other kids were
in telling me what happened that eventually led Ryan to
take his own life – the same kids that I had sat down
face-to-face with to get answers…It was obvious that
they were much more willing to be open with me online.”
Halligan noted that the level of comfort youth find in
communicating through technology can make cyberbullying
even more dangerous than bullying in a physical manner.
“No
muscles are needed to send someone a harassing e-mail or
text message,” Halligan added. “So a lot more kids
participate electronically in this type of behavior and
they’re starting as early as elementary school…The age
of innocence tragically keeps getting lower and lower in
our society.”
Halligan encouraged audience members to be involved in
their child’s activity online and that if they aren’t
already doing so, to become familiar with social
networking sites like Facebook and Twitter. He also
addressed the issue of “sexting” – sending sexually
explicit pictures and videos to others.
“The internet is fast becoming your resume and you’ve
got to protect your reputation,” he said. “Be proactive
and have a conversation with your kids about this
stuff…In today’s world when kids make mistakes, they can
turn out to be kind of big because of technology. If you
do something stupid, post it online and then decide
later to go back and delete it, someone could have
already saved it onto their hard drive and then use it
against you later.”
Halligan, who helped pass two bullying bills through the
state legislature in his home state of Vermont, urged
those in attendance to not be bystanders when bullying
occurs – something he says is as equally as important
for adults as it is children.
For more information on the
Halligan family story, visit
www.ryanpatrickhalligan.org. |