On Sept. 7, 15-year-old Amanda Todd posted a video on YouTube titled My story: Struggling, bullying, suicide, self harm.

One month later, the former Maple Ridge student killed herself.

The suicide has sparked a nationwide cry for help to end bullying at schools and online.

Amanda posted the video to chronicle her struggles with being stalked on the Internet and with being bullied at school.

The video shows a young thin girl with long wavy dark hair using flash cards to tell her story.

It began when - while in Grade 7 - she flashed her breasts on the webcam to someone police are calling a "suspected pedophile."

Her narrative also told of bullying she received from girls and boys alike, and about moving from one school to the next in efforts to end the harassment.

In the video description she wrote the following: "I'm struggling to stay in this world, because everything just touches me so deeply. I'm not doing this for attention. I'm doing this to be an inspiration and to show that I can be strong... Haters are haters but please don't hate... I hope I can show you guys that everyone has a story, and everyone's future will be bright one day, you just gotta pull through. I'm still here aren't I?"

Amanda ended her life a few weeks shy of her 16th birthday.

Her mother Carol, a teacher in Coquitlam, hopes her daughter's death will open up dialogue to help other people who are going through what her daughter faced.

Carol doesn't want other children to suffer as her daughter did.

"I have lost one child, but I know she wanted her story to save a thousand more. Amanda was a very caring individual.

She would help others who needed help," Carol told media.

"One of Amanda's goals was to get her message out there and have it used as a learning tool for others."

In putting together her video, which Amanda did on her own, Carol said her daughter wanted to help other young people who are being bullied and to bring attention and education to the problem.

"Amanda wanted to tell her story to help other kids. I want to tell my story to help parents, so they can be aware, so they can teach their kids what is right and wrong, and how to be safe online," she said.

Carol has launched a trust fund in Amanda's memory to raise money for anti-bullying awareness education and for support programs for youth with mental health issues.

Amanda was the victim of unrelenting torture. And the cyberspace stalker was aided by people in Amanda's real-world life - kids who would share the photos on their cellphones, kids who would gang up to hurl first verbal abuse and then fists at her.

"Everything she said in the video happened over the past two years," said Carol. "It was horrendous. I think about it now and I think, 'Oh my God. How did she survive this long with the pain?'"

As for the person who cyber-stalked her daughter, Carol said the police did get involved.

"Police investigated and investigated. It got traced to somebody in the United States," Carol was quoted as saying. "But they never found him. Those people are very good at hiding their tracks."

When asked if police unsuccessfully trailed a suspected Internet child lurer in the U.S., RCMP Sgt. Peter Thiessen said he could not comment.

"I'm not going to directly comment on what Carol Todd may be providing. That is for her to speak to, so I'm not in a position to validate it or not," Thiessen said.

"We are following up every piece of information with the hope that we can gather enough evidence to lay an appropriate charge against those that we feel may have played some role," leading up to Amanda's decision to take her life, Thiessen said.

In past, Amanda attended both Maple Ridge and Westview secondary schools.

The Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows school district is in the process of establishing "cyber-guidelines" that students and parents will have to review and sign, according to Laurie Meston, deputy superintendent of School District 42.

Some anti-bullying policy and social-media education was in place when Amanda attended school in Maple Ridge, Meston said, but it is impossible to know if the district's current risk policies could have prevented Amanda from taking her life.

Amanda's situation "has so many layers to it... it is complex," she said, adding that to have a dedicated "e-safety" officer in each school is "something that we need to continue to consider, but I'm not sure at this point."

People don't realize how much their words can hurt, said SD42 spokesperson Irene Pochop.

"We take these things very seriously," she added. "Our focus [now] is to be able to support the students who have been affected by Amanda's death."

In June, the school district introduced a program called ERASE (Expect Respect And a Safe Education) Bullying.

It is a 10-point anti-bullying strategy that will help ensure every child feels safe, accepted, and respected, regardless of their gender, race, culture, religion, or sexual orientation.

The strategy is aimed to help prevent, identify, and stop harmful behaviours by children and adults - whether online, at school, or in the community.

Bruce Cunnings, the district vice-principal of student support services and Safe Schools, said the "training hasn't come yet."

In the meantime, 24-hour support and crisis counselling is available to the public at call 604-951-8855.

smclaren@mrtimes.com