Teen Support Network (TSN) is an anti-bullying website founded by William Russell. William made TSN in a promise that he kept from a friend of his who was severely bullied because his sexuality, he identified as gay and because of the Bullying which included cyber, physical, verbal and Homophobia, even his family disowned him because of who he really was. William's friend sadly took his own life a
s a direct result from all of this. Just months prior of him taking his own life, he asked William to keep a promise and that was start a website that is aimed at supporting teenagers from all walks of life, from all corners of the globe, that provides supportive advice, and useful information for teenagers and their friends and family. Secondly he did asked me to keep his identity a secret so we are using “Tony”. Tony was your average teenager, sure he experienced a lot of hatred in his short 15 years of life but he’d just brushed it off until he came out as Gay in High School, other students called him “faggot”, “fag”, “gay”, the list goes on and they also often punched and kicked and also spat on him and destroyed his personal property. Tony like most teenagers do he went online and socialized with his friends on sites like facebook Tony had people sending him threatening massagers like this one “No people like’s you, you ‘faggot’ why don’t you go kill yourself the world will be a better place without you ‘F***ing faggot’”. Tony had suffered enough brutality in his short life that he decided to end it by taking a deadly mixture of medication both prescription and pain killers in which he had succeeded in, he took his life on the 15th of September 2011. On the 15th of February, 2012 William started up the website under the name of “We Support Teenagers Who Have Been Bullied”. William thought that it was very long so in the middle of 2012 he changed the name to Teen Support Network. In 2013 William was featured in a number of newspaper articles in Adelaide, South Australia and also one in the Blaze Magazine. William also was invited to do a speech the Unley Rotary Club. In 2014 on Australia Day the 26th of January, William was awarded the Young Citizen of the Year for the City of Mitcham, William has also done a few radio interviews, one for Fresh FM and one for 5RPH Adelaide. William hopes to support as many teenagers and families as possible and make a difference in this world by putting my foot down to all types of discrimination and hatred
