Jamey Rodemeyer

Meet Jamey Rodemeyer.  Jamey was 14 when he committed suicide Sept 18th 2011.  According to friends and family, relentless bullying at school and over the Internet based on his sexual orientation was the primary factor.

He had even made an "It Gets Better" video for the It Gets Better project May 4, 2011.

From the story:

WILLIAMSVILLE, N.Y. (WIVB) - A young life has been cut tragically short by suicide. Now, two grief stricken parents are vowing to carry on their son's message.

Jamey Rodemeyer's parents believe years of bullying drove their son to suicide. The Williamsville North freshman took his life Sunday, he was only 14 years old.

Jamey Rodemeyer posted a message online hoping that others would be inspired by his struggle with bullying. A part of the message reads, “That's all you have to do. Just love yourself and you're set. And I promise you, it'll get better.”

Soon after coming home from a family camping trip, Jamey was found dead Sunday. His parents say he was always under pressure because of struggles with his sexuality.

Jamey’s mother Tracy Rodemeyer said, "So he hung around with the girls a lot, so then the teasing started happening like 'Oh you're such a girl or you're gay or whatever and that bothered him for many years."

...

His last tweet, addressed to Lady Gaga read:

"bye mother monster, thank you for all you have done, paws up forever"

"I can't stop crying"

This picture was posted to his twitter account Feb 9th, 2011.












Here is his "it Gets Better" video on youtube.

Sources:
http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/erie/parents-carry-on-anti-bullying-message
http://www.towleroad.com/2011/09/jamey.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pb1CaGMdWk&feature=player_embedded
http://twitter.com/#!/hausofjamey
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/schools/article563538.ece

Kameron Jacobsen

Kameron Jocobsen

Meet Kameron Jacobsen, age 14.  Kameron committed suicide in January of 2011.  He was a freshman at Monroe Woodbury High School n New York.  Although Kameron was not believed to be gay, bullying based on the perception that he was, played a role in his death.

From the story:

MYFOXNY.COM - A community in Orange Country, N.Y., is in mourning and in shock after a 14-year-old freshman took his own life and Facebook bullying may have pushed him over the edge.

Sources said that Kameron Jacobsen of Monroe Woodbury High School was tormented by Facebook bullies who taunted him about what they thought was his sexual orientation.

His fellow students and parents are devastated.

...

An excerpt from an article written by his father:

It is a very difficult process to write about my son’s life, but my hope is that you become a bit more familiar with him and you realize that he is the same as any young boy. They are all loved, they are all our sons. They all have dreams, they all have fears. They sometimes cry and sometimes hide their tears.

-Kevin Jacobsen Sr.

UPDATE 3/20/2012

A reader alerted me to some heart-breaking news.  From the article:

Kevin Jacobsen

MONROE, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) — It is an unimaginable loss for a Hudson Valley family.

A father who became an anti-bullying advocate after losing his son to suicide, has now taken his own life, reports CBS 2′s Tony Aiello.

A shadow of grief is once again upon a house in Orange County, following the weekend suicide of Kevin Jacobsen.

“That whole family to go through this twice now, I just can’t believe it,” neighbor Jacqui Vega said.

“There’s never an answer to it. It’s sad, you know. That’s all I can say. Just keep ‘em in your prayers and hope the wife can carry on,” added resident Bill Hale.

Back in September, Wanda and Kevin Jacobsen spoke about the suicide death of their son, Kameron, who suffered physical, verbal and cyber bullying.

...

Sources:
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/10/n-y-anti-bullying-crusader-takes-his-own-life-near-anniversary-of-sons-death/
http://www.myfoxny.com/dpp/news/local_news/new_york_state/sources-teenager-kills-himself-after-facebook-taunts-20110119
http://www.kindnessabovemalice.org/meet-kameron/
http://www.towleroad.com/2011/01/jacobsen.html
http://www.askthejudge.info/freshman-made-lots-of-people-smile-and-laugh/8476/