NORWICH – Motivational speakers from Sweethearts and Heroes visited Norwich City School District on Thursday and Friday to speak to students and educators at a series of assemblies about the importance of intervening in the presence of bullying and providing hope to those that need it.

Tom Murphy, a martial artist and motivational speaker for Sweethearts and Heroes, spoke to students and educators about "perhaps the greatest moral puzzle that humanity has ever faced." Suicides of 10 to 14 year old has doubled since 2007, Murphy said. Half a million to a million children aged 10 to 14 commit suicide every year.

Speaking to a Norwich educator during an assembly with Norwich Middle School students Thursday afternoon, Murphy said, "In your lifetime, sir, the number one thing to take the life of a 10 to 14 year old has always been car accidents. Last year for the first time in human history, the number one thing to take the life of a kid in this room? Their own hand."

Besides the basic necessities, Murphy said every human being needs two things to survive: meaning and acceptance. Without a meaning or purpose, and without feeling accepted by your peers, a person is driven to hopelessness, Murphy said––like no possibilities exist for their future and like they can't go on.