Tupman, Calif. - A mother-and-daughter team helped spread the anti-bully message to some middle school students in Tupman on Monday.

23 ABC has been following the pair as they have advocated against bullying all across Kern County.
The administration at Elk Hills invited the duo along with others involved in the group called, Student Unite Against Bullying.

"We spoke about the different types of bullying and what to look for," said Jami Frye.

What started off as a little support effort at West High about a year ago, with some T-shirts to spread awareness, has blossomed at South High, with Monday's assembly being their first official outreach event.

"The message here today is to hopefully prevent someone else from being bullied and to help someone who is being bullied to open up so we can help them out," said Frye.

Oksana Swen and Jami Frye have continued to fight on the front lines of the battle against bullying with meetings, support groups and social media. Though this was their first assembly, it's far from their first effort. The pair was instrumental in convincing the producers of the documentary film "Bully" to show it in Kern County early this year.

"Bullying is a serious issue; kids sometime commit suicide because of it, and they go into depression. They hurt themselves, and we want to help make a difference," said Frye.

The effort stems from Swen's personal battle when she was bullied at West High and said she had a difficult time getting support from campus administration. Now she is fighting against this issue so others don't feel isolated.

"The individual starts to think no one cares for them and no one wants them. So they start to think bad thoughts, and we don't want that to happen," said Swen.

The group hopes the anti-bully message to the middle school students will impact them all the way through their high school years and change the face of bullying on each campus.


"Most of these kids are going to different high schools. I hope they take the message that we are sending them and take it to the other high schools and help stop the bullying," said Swen.

The pair says the issue of bullying affects one in four students every day, and they encourage parents and educators to recognize the signs.