The father of a 14-year-old girl who died by suicide after “constant” bullying and harassment has invited her bullies to the funeral to “witness the complete devastation you have created”.
Amy “Dolly” Everett, a young teen from a Northern Territory cattle family who was once the face of iconic Australian hat company Akubra, took her own life last week.
She has been remembered by her family as “the kindest, caring, beautiful soul, and she was always caring for animals, small children, other children at boarding school who were less fortunate than herself.”
“I know for some suicide is considered cowardly but I guarantee those people wouldn’t have half the strength that my precious angle had,” her father Tick Everett wrote on Facebook.
“Unfortunately, Dolly will never know the grain pain and emptiness left behind.”
He invited his daughter’s tormenters to the funeral, which will be held tomorrow, Friday 12th January. People are being asked to wear blue, Dolly’s favourite colour.
“If by some chance the people who thought this was a joke and made themselves feel superior by the constant bullying and harassment see this post, please come to our service and witness the complete devastation you have created.”
The family is planning to establish a trust called “Dolly’s Dream“, to raise awareness of bullying, anxiety, depression and youth suicide, and is spreading the message on social media via the hashtags #stopbullyingnow and #doitforDolly.
“Before Dolly died, she completed a drawing and wrote the words, ‘Stand up, speak even if your voice shakes’,” her family said in a statement provided to ABC News.
“This powerful message tells the dark, scary place our beautiful angel had travelled to. We are not concerned with the who or the why of who pushed our daughter to this point, we just want to save another family going through the sadness and tragedy that our family is experiencing.”
People are being asked to donate to Dolly’s Dream in lieu of sending flowers, with details to come at the funeral. (We’ll update this post if details are made public.)
Tick Everett’s message implored people to help put an end to bullying.
“[This] is for the strong ones,” he wrote. “Let’s stop the bullies no matter where, but especially in our kids, as the old saying goes. You will never know what you have until it’s gone.”
If you or someone you know is experiencing bullying, you can call the Kids Helpline on 1800 55 1800 (ages 5 to 25) or BeyondBlue on 1300 22 4636. If you are in crisis, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
