Schools and parents nationwide have long recognized bullying as a prominent concern. According to a Pew Research Center report regarding parental worries on dangers their children face, bullying ranked highest at 60 percent.
Perhaps this is why Councilwoman Suzie Price and Safe Long Beach are hosting an anti-bullying workshop this coming Saturday, October 29, at CSULB’s College of Business Administration (CBA) Building. The event will take place in room 140 from 9:00AM to noon, according to Price’s office.
Erin Runnion, founder of The Joyful Child Foundation, will serve as the keynote speaker. Other speakers will include Kyle Becker, founder of The Kids Theater Company, Mollie Bennett, a K-12 educator and owner of Hoopla! Events, Hutx Colunga, a teacher at Marshall Middle School in the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) and Shaila Saint, a parent educator and adjunct professor at Long Beach City College.
“I am so privileged to have Runnion be our keynote speaker this year,” said Price in a statement. “She is committed to personal safety education and provides proactive education and empowerment tools for children and parents.”
Price’s office emphasized that the the focus of the free citywide event was fifth- to eighth-grade students and their parents, reflected by a family workshop that will highlight bullying, cyberbullying and social media trends that affect children, as well as bullying prevention methods.
Translations will be available for Spanish, Khmer and Tagalog speakers. Complimentary continental breakfast is also available for attendees. Parking for the event is free at CSULB’s lot 17. For more information on event parking, click here.
Since its inception in 2014, Safe Long Beach has provided city fairs and workshops to promote safety awareness in the city. The program is a product of the Safe Long Beach Violence Prevention Plan, which was approved by city council to address a broad safety agenda aimed at reducing all forms of violence, including domestic abuse, child abuse, elder abuse, hate crimes, bullying, gang violence, and violent crime.
The city’s designation to the forum in the fall of 2014 allowed the city to apply for federal grant awards to implement its Safe Long Beach Violence Prevention Plan. Long Beach established Safe Long Beach and its anti-truancy programs to be in line with My Brother’s Keeper (MBK), President Obama’s 2014 initiative that encourages communities to implement a “cradle to college-and-career strategy.” Long Beach’s Safe Long Beach program was a direct response to the President’s MBK Community Challenge.