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MANISTIQUE -- An anti-bullying and suicide prevention team visited Manistique High School Thursday to educate students on how damaging school bullying can be.

Cindy Bintner from Escanaba lost both of her sons to suicide. After years of coming to terms with their deaths, she is taking it upon herself to help educate young people about how there are other ways to cope and on the impact that suicide has on other family members.

"My boys were your average everyday boys. I was a stay at home mom, their dad and I weren't split up. We were a good family. If it can happen to them, it can happen to anybody," said Bintner.

She travels all around the U.P. from school to school with BD&D Training Associates, talking to students about how bullying can sometimes lead to serious circumstances, like suicide.

The "Friends Helping Friends" program at Manistique High School invited the speakers to talk about just that.

"We really want kids to come to school feeling safe, and it's a very difficult mission right now that we're trying to take on. It's a huge challenge for us," said School Principal Butch Yurk.

Even though student suicide isn't as widespread as bullying, many students can still relate.

"The U.P.'s small enough where it's affected a lot of people on a personal level even though it hasn't happened in our school. But the bullying is very prevalent, and so we wanted to make the awareness a lot more projected.

BD&D Associates are headed to Holy Name School in Escanaba next week.