A local company wants to take a deeper dive into the issue of bullying by providing a clearer picture of just how rampant the problem is in the province.

Samantha Gerbeau, the founder of Newfoundcare, says the most up-to-date statistics on a federal government website date back to 2012. But she says it’s widely believed the problem has gotten much worse since then, particularly among seniors and in the workplace.

She says the challenge is getting people to open up and share their stories of bullying and harassment, possibly through a 1-800 number along the lines of the Kids Help Phone.

Gerbeau says community leaders are telling her that the incidents of bullying are growing exponentially, so the goal is to update those numbers and concentrate on prevention.

She notes there are anti-bullying programs through WorkplaceNL but she believes a task force is needed toward providing immediate help for those in need now.

Meanwhile, Gerbeau says people can share their stories anonymously by contacting Newfoundcare, adding the info can be obtained without naming names.

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