Parents, grandparents and other adults who interact with children and adolescents are invited to a free forum on Thursday, April 12 to learn about the insidiousness of cyberbullying and how to combat it.
Summit Police Sgt. Thomas Rich, an expert on cyberbullying, will educate adults on how 
cyberbullies not only use texts and emails to harass victims, but can harm them anonymously on social media and gaming apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, Twitter, Minecraft, Roblox, and Pokémon Go. A police officer for 20 years, Rich has addressed cyberbullying at more than 700 events nationwide, and on segments of CNN, Good Morning America and the Fox network.
Cyberbullies use various tactics, such as posting hurtful comments on social media and apps, sending harassing emails and texts, impersonating a victim, and doxing, in which the perpetrator makes a victim’s personal information public online. An estimated 15 percent of high school students reported being bullied electronically, according to the 2013 New Jersey Student Health Survey, the most recent available.
The forum at the First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains, 529 Newark Pompton Turnpike, is the fifth in a series offered by Community Partners for Hope, a coalition of 11 community groups and houses of worship committed to addressing critical issues facing communities. Tickets to the 7 p.m. event are free, but registration is required. Go to CPFH1803.eventbrite.com to reserve a seat.
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ABOUT COMMUNITY PARTNERS FOR HOPE
Community Partners for Hope is a not-for-profit corporation that addresses important issues facing our communities. Our goal for this series of programs is to educate members of tour communities about drug addiction (especially heroin and other opiates) and to introduce them to resources, so they have places to turn for help. The following organizations are supporting this important initiative: Chilton Medical Center; First Reformed Church of Pompton Plains; Good Shepherd Episcopal Church of Lincoln Park and Montville; Holy Spirit Catholic Church; NewBridge Services; Pequannock Municipal Alliance; Pequannock Township Coalition; Pequannock Valley Rotary; Suburban Woman’s Club of Pompton Plains; The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Our Saviour; and W/HIM Women’s Hands in Mission. Email outreach@cpfhnj.org for more information.