Valley teen speaks out against bullying

PHOENIX - Thirteen-year-old Lindsey Reiss has a message for bullies.

"Dear Bully: Do you know how that made me feel? Do you know what it's like to not feel safe at school," she asked as she read a letter aloud.

She's strong enough now to look back to a little over a year ago, and read her own online letters expressing feelings of helplessness and insecurity during the time she says she was the victim of bullying.

It began when a friend took a video of her in a compromising position in a bathroom stall.

"She had let some of her friends use her phone and they had seen the video. At first I was getting tormented and I felt really alone," she said.

Lindsey says she was ridiculed daily and eventually lost most of her friends. She fell into depression, but with her mom's support, she found help.

"My family was very supportive of me. They were always there for me," she said.

She eventually switched schools and regained her confidence. Now, she speaks out as an advocate against bullying.

"I've noticed myself helping friends if they have situations, or if something isn't going right in their life, they come to me and it feels good to know they trust me with their lives," she said.

She's joined local and online groups to rally against bullying and her mother could not be more proud.

"I am so sorry she had to go through an episode like this, but it has made her so much stronger," Karen Reiss said.