Together, We Will Stop the Bullying

We Will Stop the Bullying

"Bullying is a social disease that can create a toxic living environment, but by working together, people can eliminate the bullying and create a healthy community," said Halberstadt. "That is the message of  Stop Bullying: Creating Healthy Communities for the Elderly and Disabled. Bullying can cause significant psychological harm, as I learned when living in 'Bleak House.'  But we can create communities and change our worlds when we act together to overcome bullying. We can and we will stop the bullying," Halberstadt added.

The first title from Togethering Press, slated for publication in 2017, is by Jerry Halberstadt, Stop Bullying: Creating Healthy Communities for the Elderly and Disabled.

Stop Bullying includes a new framework for understanding and eliminating bullying, based on a documentary record of the problem of bullying of elderly and disabled people living in multifamily housing, including in public and subsidized programs, and includes a detailed record of efforts to build a coalition of partners and to advocate for remedial legislation. A partial history of that effort is reported online at http://StopBullyingCoalition.org.

Halberstadt was trained in social anthropology and has been a professional publisher, writer, photographer, and editor for several decades. But his credentials for this topic were earned in several years of living in a multifamily building ruled by bullying and mobbing. There he succeeded in organizing a tenants' association, worked with others to make significant inroads on the bullying, and finally reached out to partner with legislators and advocacy groups to seek legal and structural changes to protect people from bullying. In Stop Bullying he identifies the conditions which lead to bullying and points to the conditions that can remedy and prevent bullying.

Readers praise Stop Bullying

“Stop Bullying is an important reference for individuals seeking information about bullying in subsidized housing communities from the point of view of individuals experiencing it. Jerry Halberstadt draws timely attention to the phenomenon of bullying among older adults and individuals with disability living in subsidized housing communities. He provides personal accounts and reflections regarding the negative impact bullying has on his neighbors and friends, discusses the limitations of current intervention approaches, and offers insightful commentary regarding potential antibullying remedies. He presents a wealth of resources to promote further understanding of bullying in these settings, including links to relevant laws, and offers a detailed record of his advocacy efforts to bring bullying to the attention of state legislators.”
—Robin P. Bonifas, PhD, MSW, Arizona State University, School of Social Work, expert on senior bullying and relationship changes in assisted living facilities

“Stop Bullying is a great read. As a witness of life in Bleak House, I can attest that the book is trustworthy, and portrays reality, not fiction. The author presents an extremely informative lesson for all to know how bullying takes place in institutions subsidized by our government including housing for elderly and disabled and in our schools. The government should oversee how the money is being used.”
—Janice Fromage, resident of Bleak House

“I love that I can associate directly with real people in your community. Thank you for helping all of us who will be using your experience as a template with our representatives to enact local, state—and dare we hope—national legislation to end bullying in Section 8 housing by tenants and property management. This will be a valuable document for many professionals including case workers, therapists, legal aids, lawyers; and residents of facilities as well as their family members and friends.”
—Tiffany, living in HUD-subsidized housing in Tennessee

“A masterpiece describing dysfunction, Stop Bullying is an inside account of the crises and challenges facing many seniors who reside in elderly housing. The experiences are real and mind-boggling. How elected officials and housing authority managers handle this noxious problem will shape the course of an individual’s final years for better or worse. Your book is an excellent resource for all those involved managing public housing and for the legislators. You are a hero to all senior citizens who have suffered the traumatic effects of bullying.”
—Eileen Marum, whose elderly mother is the victim of bullying & mobbing in local public housing

“I am quite impressed. Very good summary of the issues involved and the challenges faced.”
—Marsha Frankel, LICSW, consultant on elderly bullying in independent housing and community settings

“My experience as someone who has been bullied all my life is that no one wants to know or to believe that bullying is real. Perhaps readers of your book will be seduced into our reality with your story-like style.”
—Susan, living in local public housing

“Your book was very inspirational and helped me immensely to know that I'm not alone in this battle.”
—KNB, 57 year old disabled woman, living in privately owned, HUD-subsidized housing

“I read on and on. And boy, do you ever write with compassion, professionalism, and some kind of magic that held my interest throughout.  I was completely engrossed by your writing, by this story that needs telling. By the time I reached dear Margaret’s ordeal, I wept. I can find no flaw in your logic or presentation. My experiences of bullying reflect perfectly the dynamics as set forth in your work. Thank you for laying out the conceptual framework—it has greatly enhanced my understanding of what I have been through, however painful all of this has been.”
—AS, living with her mother in subsidized housing in Michigan

“Stop Bullying is a very clear and useful wealth of valuable information for our tenant committee. We are experiencing what you describe right here where I live, in a HUD-subsidized senior apartment building in California.”
—CJ, tenant committee president

“While reading Stop Bullying, I get overwhelmed, sometimes, and suspect I suffer from vicarious traumatization. The story is dark and sinister, with a gothic overtone. But the metaphors are falling like comets (or moons) and I am now leaning toward science fiction. Except it is, so far, a tragedy and will be, until a working solution is devised, mandated, and enforced by law.”
—June Fleischmann, Counseling Psychologist, MA, LMHC, LADCI

“I read your entire book yesterday. It was your heart, your plea, a documentary, a non-fiction novel; instructional. A lot to read, it exhausted me and I experienced so many emotions—horror, grief, desperation, personal recalls, fear, anger, helplessness, shock, hope, alarm, wonderment, disbelief, and relief.”
—Edie Stephenson, living in senior housing in Missouri, a determined activist demanding oversight and advocating for legislation.

Advance review copies are available for reviewers and advocates, write via. "Contact".