Portage girl speaks out on being bullied

SOUTH HAVEN | Jodi Bunjan, 15, haltingly shared her story Saturday about being bullied, relying on her mother to read a message she'd written about it.

"It's not a fun thing to happen to you. ... Rarely a school day went by that I wasn't afraid I was going to be beat up," read Sherry Bunjan, of Portage.

"That's powerful," she said, her tears forcing her to stop reading what her daughter had written.

When asked how she felt about sharing her story, Jodi Bunjan said: "I'm happy that someone is actually listening."

The Bunjans spoke during an anti-bully rally Saturday at the Porter County Family Counseling Center.

Sherry Bunjan said things became so bad for her daughter that she enrolled her at River Forest High School in Hobart Township.

Sherry Bunjan said she tried, without success, to enlist the assistance of school officials, police and representatives from the Indiana Department of Child Services.

"No one is protecting these kids. ... I'm not sending her to a place where she's going to get beat up and threatened every day. It's unbelievable," Sherry Bunjan said.

Counselors Jessika Niksich and Carol Dahlen, who organized the anti-bully rally, said they had hoped to draw more people for the rally, which drew only the Bunjans.

They said Saturday's event is a start.

"We're so grateful for the two of you," Dahlen said.

Dahlen and Niksich said their goal is to develop support groups for students who have been bullied and for parents of children who have been bullied or are the bully.

If students or teachers are interested in starting an anti-bully group in their school, both women said they would help with its development.

For more information, contact either Niksich or Dahlen at the center at (219) 364-2732 or email Niksich at Jessika13720@gmail.com.