Adelaide student and stroke survivor William Russell has set up a support network for teenagers being bullied

DOCTORS gave little hope 'Billy' Russell would survive his birth after he suffered a stroke in his mother's womb.

DOCTORS gave little hope William 'Billy' Russell would survive his birth after he suffered a stroke in his mother's womb.

Even if he did survive they gave him a slim chance of ever walking or talking properly.

But proving people wrong has been a crusade for Billy, 19 this week, and he is now dedicating his life to putting bullies in their place.

The Urrbrae Agricultural High School student has created Teen Support Network, a social media organisation to help those suffering from harassment at school, the work place and at home.

Figures from the National Crime Prevention Council reveal an astonishing 160,000 kids miss school every day in Australia because they're scared of being bullied.

The Australian Human Rights Commission, has declared bullying "endemic" in the nation, which has been ranked worst in the world for social network bullying.

"I strongly believe that everyone should have the right to be themselves without having to worry about being bullied, put down, or harassed," the inspirational teenager said.

"It all started back in 2011 when one of my friends, Tony, made me promise to set up and run a website to support bullied youth. I had the usual name calling and stuff at school, nothing too serious, but he was bullied for real."

'Tony' is a pseudonym for a boy Billy met in Year 2 at Reynella Primary School.

They regarded each other as brothers so it was only natural Tony would share his biggest secret with his inseparable friend.

"When we were about 12, Tony told me he was gay," Billy said. "I was cool about it - and said I'd continue to look out for him. But he confided in a group he thought were friends and they let him down badly."

The bullying of Tony intensified. Last year a mutual friend rang Billy to tell him Tony had taken his own life.

'Sometime when I think about it too much I get emotional," Billy said, shaking. "I remembered my promise to Tony and I launched the Teen Support organisation and set up a Facebook page 18 months ago.''

The website gives detailed information for bullied youth and same sex attracted teens. There are links to services such as Lifeline, Kidshelpline and Beyondblue and there is a forum for people to share their stories. The Network has over 500 Facebook friends and Twitter followers.

"Some kids are in crisis which can be stressful," he said. "I just think about what would I do if I was in their shoes."

Urrbrae special education teacher, John Kemp, said Billy was ''very much supported" by his school community but was pushing boundaries. 'The issues around homophobia in particular are often at their worst in adolescence and that has been a big part of Billy's focus," he said. "That can be a bit confronting for some people."

Billy chose Urrbrae because of his affinity with animals but is now hoping to work as a youth counsellor. "One in three teenagers will be bullied and that's a figure I want to help to change," he said.

For crisis support contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. SEE Billy's website at www.teensupportnetwork.org