Former Town Councilor Taking Stand Against Bullying

When former Town Councilor David Yakuboff decided not to run for another term as Town Councilor, he already had plans in mind for a project he wanted to tackle with some of his new found free time.

Four months later, Yakuboff is ready to get that project rolling and he's ready to spread the word that bullying has no place in Merrimack.

Yakuboff met with the Town Council last Thursday seeking a vote of confidence from his former boardmates regarding said project: No Excuse for Peer Abuse.

He said in talking with his adult children it's become quite clear that at some point most, if not all, school-age children will endure some form of bullying and he wants to give people another avenue to turn down if they are feeling alone.

"It's just not right, it's not acceptable, not by any standard," Yakuboff said.

No Excuse for Peer Abuse will be a hotline for children, teens or adults to call if they are experiencing bullying or suspect someone else is.

Yakuboff told the board in addition to the hotline, which runs from 9 a.m.-9 p.m. and gives someone to talk to about their concerns and the next steps that could or should be taken, NoExcuseForPeerAbuse.com is meant to serve as a place to promote awareness about bullying and the effects if can have as well as to share effective approaches to bullying prevention.

Yakuboff said the site is still under construction, but with a great amount of help from local webmaster Brian McCarthy, it should be up and running, Yakuboff hopes, within two to three weeks.

Yakuboff said in simpler times, bullying was name calling, pushing, hitting, slapping, spitting and the like, but in today's technological age, bullying has taken on many new forms.

Children and teens are bullied over social media networks like Facebook and Twitter as well as through text and instant messaging services.

With the advent of social media, there are more ways than ever for children to say and do hurtful things and they often are seen or heard by a broader audience than ever.

“It's important to educate the children that once they push that send button, it's gone, and its not to just one person generally,” Yakuboff said.

Yakuboff hopes that NEPA will help parents and people connected to the school community to advocate for an effective school-based bullying prevention program, to promote awareness of the most effective ways to approach bullying prevention and to avocate for increased awareness for bullying-related research and prevention.

The Town Council commended Yakuboff for the steps he is taken to tackle this sort of project.

Councilor Nancy Harrington encouraged Yakuboff to work closely with the schools in terms of how to approach some trickier instances where a school may have protocol to handle a certain situation as there are laws dictating how certain response must be handled.

Bill Boyd asked if the hotline would be manned by people trained in taking calls from people feeling abused by others. Yakuboff said volunteers  working the phone line are meant to be a middle man of sorts.

"I look at this as a gateway for people to calm down and find a way to get the support they need," Yakuboff said.

Anyone who would like to report being bullied or to report if they know of someone else being bullied can call the hotline at 604-494-6753. If no one can take the call at the time it comes in, it will be returned within 12 hours, Yakuboff said. People can also email DGY1954@gmail.com for help or visit NoExcuseForPeerAbuse.com (website not yet available).

All emergency situations should be handled by the police by calling 424-3774 or in 911.

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