Tue Oct 18, 11:51 PM

'Things don't magically get better ... They're made better.'

Lisa LaFlamme, Chief Anchor and Senior Editor | CTV News
James Hubley, the son of Kanata South city councillor Allan Hubley, died by suicide Friday, Oct. 14, 2011. He was 15 years old.
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Things don't magically get better … They're made better.

Those were the words of gay activist Jeremy Dias in our report last night on the death by suicide of Ottawa teenager Jamie Hubley.

He was reacting to the hopeful ‘It Gets Better' series of videos posted on YouTube by activists, supporters and celebrities on behalf of the Trevor Project -- a lifeline for gay or questioning youth who are considering suicide and need someone to talk to. 1-866-4-U-TREVOR

Hubley, 15, wrote in his Tumblr feed that he had trouble believing it would ever "get better."

".. this hurts too much. How do you even know It will get better?" he asks.

How does one answer this question? How does one speak with someone whose pain runs too deep to be able to see the light of day?

He seemed special in so many ways. A talented performer judging from his YouTube channel, unafraid to be himself. His friends posted touching tributes, many of them saying how Jamie inspired them with his creativity, humour and openness.

Jamie started a "Rainbow Club" at his high school in Kanata, only to see posters he put up, torn down by others. He had a love of figure skating but was taunted relentlessly for it.

We can't pretend to know the answer, but perhaps one way is to ask ourselves how we allowed such a thing to happen? And to learn more about such a painful topic, open up the dialogue, speak to and listen to those who are brave enough to share their stories. Many Canadians did just that a few weeks ago during Canada AM's Speak Out on Suicide series.

Today, Hubley's family released a touching statement on Jamie's death. Please take a moment to read it.

Jamie's father Allan Hubley, a city councillor for Kanata South, has vowed to use his public position to bring attention to the issues of mental health and bullying.

Today, Allan sat down with CTV Ottawa anchor Graham Richardson to talk about his son's life -- the warning signs, the bullying he endured, the therapy his son was getting, his blog. It's a candid interview and an important story that Ottawa reporter Daniele Hamamdjian will follow up on tonight.

You can also watch the video attached above on this blog, in which Alyson Schafer, a psychotherapist and one of Canada's leading parenting experts, discusses what signs to look for if you're concerned a loved one is a victim of bullying.

One thing she said that struck a chord, is that only one per cent of a school population does the bullying, to another one per cent of its victims. But that makes the rest, 98 per cent of that school, passive observers. "A whole community is watching this going on," she told CTV News Channel. How do we make things easier for the observers to get involved?

"Someone needs to step up," Schafer says.

Indeed. And bringing us back to Jeremy Dias: "Things don't magically get better. They're made better.

"We as a community have to decide to make things better."

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