Lloydminster is taking a stance against bullying in the community by proclaiming anti-bullying week.
Mayor Gerald Aalbers on behalf of the City proclaimed the week of February 26 as anti-bullying week alongside students from Lloydminster Comprehensive High School (LCHS). Aalbers says that it’s important to eliminate bullying and have the community support behind it.
“We want to ensure that people doesn’t matter from a religious perspective, from an ethnicity perspective, wherever you come from bullying is not acceptable. I think that anyone that I talk to can talk about being bullied.”
Anti-bullying is part of the Kindness Wins Campaign, as well as Pink Shirt Day that all promote kindness over bullying. Chair of Beyond Border Circle of Change Leanne Melnecheanko says that their organization is providing kindness wins grants that will go towards school activities for students to experience how kindness wins in their lives.
Melnecheanko is also a counselor at LCHS and says that the younger generations are impacted the most by bullying.
“Not only has bullying likely hits it height between the ages of about 10 to 14 or 15, but it’s also when they have the least skills and the least confidence in being able to deal with it and we feel that if we make an impact there then maybe we will be able to see positive results into our future.”
Pink Shirt Day is taking place Wednesday.