PEORIA, Ill -- Renee Solofra started a local organization after her son Chase, then 7-years-old, told her he was hit by kids at school.
Chase has a bleeding disorder and his peers wanted to see him bruise.
Later, she says he was slapped on the back by a teacher for playing rock, paper, scissors.
"It broke my heart," says Solofra. "It infuriated me. I'm not a mom who steps back. I'm a mom who speaks up."
That's why she started stopthebullil.org.
The website offers advice to parents, like keeping an open path of communication with their children.
"Know who the kids are hanging out with," says the website's president. "See how their grades are going. See if they're getting depressed. See if their behaviors are changing."
Behavioral change is a key indicator for both victims of bullying and bullies themselves, according to the Mental Health Association of Illinois Valley.
Executive Director Lori Cheeks says often times, bullies can't deal with their own problems and project them onto peers.
She adds Facebook and cell phones give bullies another outlet for harassment.
"It used to be that kids leave school and the bullying stopped, but now it goes on even at home," says Cheeks.
With social networking attached to several teen suicides across the nation, it may seem that cyber bullying is increasing the number of teens who don't seek help for depression.
That might not be the case.
A counselor with the Illinois Institute for Addiction Recovery says the wide exposure of this problem could be a good indicator.
"It's been similar numbers across the board, it's that we're becoming more aware of it," says Ed Betzelberger. "It's more and more people that are discovering that there's treatment and there's help available."
Ironically, some of that help is available through the internet with websites like stopthebullil.org.
"You can get a key-logger downloaded," Solofra suggests. "You can know every move that your child is making on their computers to know who is bothering them. That can be used as evidence down the road that can really define what bullying has happened."
Solofra says she is currently working with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan to incorporate anti-bullying programs in more schools.
The pair will be part of a Hate Crime Summit Tuesday, January 10 at Illinois Central College.
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