As more than 300 freshmen students showed up for orientation at Austintown Fitch High School, a new program started that could help with the bullying problem.

This program is unique. It gives the younger students someone close to their own age to talk to if they don't feel comfortable going to an adult.

Link Crew is linking freshmen with juniors and senior mentors, approximately 90 of them, to help make what sometimes is a difficult transition to high school.

Chris Berni, principal at Austintown Fitch High School, said "Along with any type of adult intervention, that peer to peer model, where someone can relate to another student, student to student relations, that's going to help that student feel a little bit more comfortable that they have someone on their side."

One major problem these students, like others around the country face, is bullying." This new program at Fitch is designed specifically to address serious problems like that.

Dave Purins, 11th grade principal at Austintown Fitch High School, said, "So, if there are things that a kid might not have the courage to tell an adult or a teacher or a counselor, the Link leaders are trained to be able to disseminate between something that they can help them through and what is above their head that they need to immediately get adults."

Dom DalTorio, a math teacher at Austintown Fitch and the coordinator of the Link Crew program, said, "Bullying is not okay. Make them feel comfortable, and even they can tell those kids how to deal with those situations. So we can nip everything right in the behind if we have to."

The Austintown Fitch administrators say it's all about building a sense of support within the schools.

In school districts where Link Crew has worked, it's increased attendance and decreased discipline.