Anti-Bullying Rally in Flint

We held an Anti-Bullying Rally in Flint yesterday!

Rocking the Violence Out Of Flint was amazing!

Ryan LoRee from Team Revelation Gym put the event together. He had talked to some people out at Walmart when we were doing our fundraising event there and that's when he got in touch with us about speaking and doing our Abuse Bites presentation. Anything to team up with others to stop abuse, bullying and violence! 

Together we can do this!

Ryan (above) founded Team Revelation a non-profit judo/wrestling type place to give free instructions and mentoring to troubled kids and youth! Kudos Ryan!

Ryan's two beautiful little girls fell in love our Yorkie, Lover.

This little boy stopped to play with Lover.

This boy's little sister was afraid of dogs...

At first she even turned her head away and wouldn't look at him...

But then I actually got her to play with Lover!

Great Things Happened All Day! And we met some really amazing people!

The Judge William Crawford (right) and a Respite Volunteer from a local shelter.

A lady & her daughter are entering our Free Book Drawing! We donated a whole box of books so that everyone who entered could win!

Judge Crawford stayed longer than he intended just to do the special honor of signing Brian's Memory Quilt! It was a very emotional moment!

The man behind the judge is making a documentary about this event.

We played some fun interactive games!

These Kids Learned How to FIGHT BACK to Stop Bullying!

Then I had the privilege of sharing "The Change Of Heart Program" in memory of my precious son, Brian. And I could not believe the results! People were coming up to me, one by one, telling me what a difference my speech made in their lives. WOW!

This young man came up after and confessed he had been a bully until the 8th grade, but had since asked forgiveness from his victims. He also explained that he often spent the night at his cousins house when he was younger and they would bully him and his brother, so he thought he had to fight like them to be cool. I gave him a hug and thanked him for sharing.

Another young man had a shirt on that said "I love Haters" and he was so loving, but said to me, "I shouldn't have worn this shirt probably to something like this." I said, "I love your shirt, and I love Haters too! With people like you and I they will learn to be Lovers!" And he gave me a hug! He works with the Reach program to help troubled youth.

A woman came up and thanked me. She said her husband wasn't going to attend the event at all, but at the last minute changed his mind. Later he told her, "I think I was meant to here this lady speak, it really touched my heart." This man had been bullied and abused his entire life!

Several others thanked me as well and were really happy about what we're doing.

But the grand finale and best part is when Jeremiah sang, "We Are The Body" by Casting Crowns. It's the first time in quite awhile he's sang in front of a crowd. 

Just to think, a month ago Jeremiah nearly committed suicide, but God spared him and is using him once again to change hearts and save lives! This is one proud mamma, excited about taking this message forth!

Thanks Ryan Loree, Team Revelation, and The Bridge Church for allowing us this great opportunity to present at your 1st Rocking the Violence Out of Flint Benefit! May we do even more awesome things together next year!

Written by: Lisa Freeman, CEO of AbuseBites.com, offering healing anti-bullying workshops to schools, workplaces, and communities. More Info 

Is Bullying Gay?

The Battle Over Gay Teens!

In today’s language kids and teens go around saying, “That’s so gay,” about virtually everything. I’ve even heard my own boys say that and quickly corrected them, not wanting to offend or hurt anyone. Although they meant nothing by it, I knew their words could hurt.

Sadly, my boys are not the only ones saying hurtful things or verbally abusing the LBGT community. In my research I found some shocking and tragic stories.

Zach King, from Columbus, Ohio was one of those horrifying stories. Due to his sexual orientation, he was beaten by a fellow high school student last fall. He’d been bullied since the 3^rd grade. Kids would say you sound like a girl. They called him “fag” and said he acted “girly”. 

The brutal beating in high school, which was the worst bullying yet, where he was punched 20 times in the face, was actually taped on a cell phone and then put on Facebook for everyone to see. This happened in a classroom full of students and bystanders, yet, no one helped him.

Thankfully, Zach didn’t commit suicide, instead, he fought back. Today he works alongside his mother as an activist against bullying for LBGT, shares his story, and speaks out to help others. He even received the Flame of Liberty Award from the ACLU this year. Read Zach’s touching story and another story about him here.

Another alarming incident happened just this year, when a New York student, 14 year old Kardin Ulysse was attacked by another student. He actually lost his sight in one eye. After two surgeries doctors have given up and say he will need a transplant. They are not sure if the damage to his eye was from the blows from the punches or the shards of glass from his eyeglasses. Read Kardin’s Full Story.

Tragically, Zach and Kardin are NOT ALONE. Upon digging deeper and doing more research, I have learned some heartbreaking statistics today. I found that the number one reason Lesbians and Gays are bullied is due to their appearance—the way they choose to look/dress. The second reason is because of their gender identity. In one of our workshops, a boy who was gay came up afterwards, gave me a hug and said, “Thanks for your message today. Nobody accepts me for who I am, so I’ve been pretending I’m not gay just so I won’t get teased and people will like me.” How sad!

I discovered that:

•  Bullying Statistics say 1 in 7 kids are bullied or are the bully. Yet, 9 out 10 Lesbians and Gays have reported being bullied over the last year.
•  LBGT, those with disabilities, and those overweight are bullied 63% more than others.
• Gays/Lesbians are 5 times more likely to miss school because they feel unsafe.
• 28% of LBGT’s feel forced to drop out of school all together.
• LBGT are 2-3 times more likely to attempt or commit suicide more than their peers.

In June of this year, a precious teen, 16-year-old, Brandon Elizares, from El Paso, TX, took his own life after being bullied and threatened at school because of his sexuality. His suicide note read, “I couldn’t make it.” His mother reported that kids had threatened to stab and burn him to death. However, she believes the school did everything they could on their part. This was a vicious attack of cyber bullying and cyber threats. Read Brandon’s Story Here.

In Light of Brandon’s Story and Others, Our organization took a closer look at all the bullycides that were reported in the USA since 2009.

We found the following stories online:


In 2012 we found 31 instances of bullycide among kids and teens, 6 of which were openly gay. 


In 2011 we found 43 instances of bullycide among kids and teens, also 6 of which were openly gay/ 3 were labeled gay.


In 2010 we found 40 instances of bullycide among kids and teens, 8 of which were openly gay/ 2 were labeled gay.


In 2009 we only found 5 stories pertaining to bullycide among kids and teens, 1 of which was openly gay/ 1 who was labeled gay.

America needs to wake up before it’s too late! Bullying isn’t Gay, shouldn’t be gay, and needs to be Stopped in Every Realm!

Great stars like Ellen DeGeneres have paved the way for those coming out and choosing openly gay lifestyles! I’m not gay or lesbian—but I do love Ellen!

Everyone in the world needs to see the fact that we are all different, yet we are all the same.

Our Anti-Bullying CHANGE workshops are geared to bring Change & Equality to all people and stop abuse, bullying and violence.

In one of our demonstrations: I give a few kids, teens, and adults (whoever is present in our workshops) various pieces of change, all totaling a dollar. I explain that it all looks different, but yet is entirely equal, of the same value, and can be spent the same. That’s how human beings are, we’re all different (race, gender, sexuality, color, etc), yet each of us has the same value and worth! Each of us wants the same thing, to be loved and accepted for who we are.

We challenge everyone to have a CHANGE OF HEART and decide not to be victims, bystanders, and bullies. We encourage them to make a change, and be survivors, so they can be the change for others to see. Our ultimate goal is to CHANGE HEARTS & SAVE LIVES in memory of our son, Brian, who lived and died forgiving his bullies. After he died we found a CHANGE jar he’d been saving… Read More Here

Written by: Lisa Freeman @ www.abusebites.com, who’s daughter, Melissa, is openly a lesbian. However, before Melissa made that decision, kids teased her relentlessly saying she looked like a boy and called her gay. Everyone in Freeman’s family was abused or bullied (even their dogs!), and have not only survived, but healed. Lisa shares their inspirational stories of abuse, bullying and survival abroad!

Founder & CEO Abuse Bites, Healing Projects Specialist Bully Police USA, Lifelong Abuse Survivor & Advocate, Award-Winning Author & Speaker, Certified Pet Therapist & Dog Trainer

More Stories About LGBT

One Gay Teens Survival Story

Bullying Works—article on anti-LGBTQ