Robert Gioia

I have been a police officer in the province of Ontario for over 24 years. I have spent several years as a school liaison officer addressing criminal complaints and specializing in presenting to youths on many topics. In addition, I created numerous presentations for the V.I.P. (Values, Influences and Peers) program which reflect the moral dilemmas and dangers faced by our youth today. These include Internet Safety, Drugs, Mischief, Theft, Alcohol, Tobacco, and Bullying. Bullying in particular seems more problematic as it has transformed with the advent and progress of the internet. As a result, society has been inundated with instances of bullying that appear to have increased at an exponential rate. In order to address this, I created a story (The Bully Barn) that will assist in teaching youths and their parents about bullying in a an entertaining fashion. In many instances, a critical role is that which is played by bystanders because they can be part of the solution or part of the problem. As a matter of fact, all it takes is one person to make a difference.