A mother in Elk Grove has penned an open letter to her son's bully.
"I know you are busy being a teenager but today marks a year since you changed my family's life forever," the letter says. "You probably don't remember as life went on like normal for you, however I remember everything like it happened yesterday."
Lili Devaney said her 14-year-old son Dustin was bullied by a classmate last year.
"He started calling my son a f****t no one wants you around," Devaney recalled. "And then the straw that broke the camels back was him telling my son to go kill himself."
As the bullying continued, Devaney said she noticed her son's mood changing.
"He was depressed...very withdrawn," she said. "His grades went down significantly...he came home crying."
Eventually, Devaney decided to transfer Dustin to a different middle school.
Now, a year later, he is happy and enjoying life on the school's basketball team. But Devaney said she can't forget what happened.
"I think people don't understand is that when you're child is bullied it doesn't just affect the child, or the parents, it affects the entire family," Devaney said.
She decided to write the open letter --which she posted on Facebook -- as a way to bring awareness to bullying.
"This was my way of letting other kids and families know that you've been through bullying you can come out on the other side OK," she said.
Devaney -- who does not know if the bully has seen her letter -- ultimately said the experience has made them stronger.
"I will continue to fight for other victims like my son, so thank you for showing me my purpose," she wrote to the bully.
Throughout the year, Devaney has started a Facebook page for parents of bullied kids and has been holding forums in Elk Grove where parents can come and address this issue.