A Grieving mother, Cheryl Hudson, shared a devastating photo of her 12-year-old son, Andy Leach, in a coffin, to show the devastating effects of bullying.
In an attempt to show the horrible effects of bullying, Hudson shared a heart-wrenching photo of her son in an open casket, after cruel bullies drove her son to commit suicide.
Andy Leach had been bullied for months by his classmates at Southhaven Middle School. It started with name calling, eventually resulting in threats of violence.
His body was found by his 15-year-old brother, along with a note left for his family in Southhaven, Mississipi.
The father, Matthew Leach, said that their son had recently begun to question his own identity.
In an interview with Local Memphis, he said, “He began to question his faith, he began to question sexual orientation, he just had a lot of questions and confusion about things.”
According to the mother, the abuse began when the bullies realized he was struggling to understand his own identity and his personal aspect.
She told Metro US, “Andy was a very fun-loving, outgoing very smart kid. He was funny, he was sarcastic, he was compassionate.He was my pride and joy, he was a momma’s boy, and he was proud to admit that.
“He was a boy scout, and he was just your typical kid that liked to have fun.I’m heartbroken, I’m heartbroken. My ex-husband, my friends and I are not going to stop with the anti-bullying.We are going to make sure that Andy’s voice is heard, and his death is not in vain.”
Andy’s parents are currently in talks with lawmakers and are trying to make sure that the bullies get severe punishments for their actions.
They are reportedly being held for questioning.
#Bullying warning sign #1: mysterious injuries. Find out what happened!#StopBullying #Listen&Learn #WarningSignsBullying #WeekendWisdom pic.twitter.com/rq9P2eTnUp
— StopBullying.Gov (@StopBullyingGov) March 9, 2018
A study conducted by Beatbullying, a bullying prevention charity, 44% of suicide among 10-14 year old in the United Kingdom are caused by bullying.
Another study by Yale University suggests, those who get bullied are 2 to 9 times more likelier to commit suicide than who are not.Andy’s mom want to raise awareness about bullying so that others don’t go through the same. (Source: Facebook)
These statistics are quite shocking, however, bullying is often, wrongly, considered to be a part of ‘growing up’ or even ‘character building.’
We know #bullying & #cyberbullying is painful. It’s important to remember that you can get through this! #STOMPOutBullying #HelpChat is here to help with these issues: https://t.co/4k4MsLIRUu pic.twitter.com/4tbO9zmq8A
— STOMP Out Bullying™ (@STOMPOutBullyng) March 10, 2018
Hudson also revealed there are many cases of bullying in Andy’s school, where a lot of children are even frightened to use the bathroom facilities.
The DeSoto County Schools released the following statement.
“All bullying reports are treated with the utmost importance. Students and parents are encouraged to contact school officials anytime there are bullying concerns, and they can use a link on the DeSoto County Schools website if they would prefer to report bullying incidents anonymously.
All claims are investigated thoroughly, and school counselors are trained to help students and intervene when they are aware of a situation. Our hearts go out to this young student’s friends and family.”
Hudson believes that more could have been done to save the precious life of her son, so she has decided to prevent other families from going through the same incident.
She is also optimistic that her action will encourage others to take the issue of bullying seriously and do more to prevent it before it is too late.