Yes. Jadin was a member of the cheerleading team at La Grande High School in La Grande, Oregon. Like the movie, the true story confirms that his classmates and others made fun of him at the games even when his father, Joe Bell, was in the stands. "They ripped him apart," said his father. "Even when I was in the stands, they made fun of him, called him hateful names. There he was, at the football games, cheering his heart out. But he just got abuse." -Salon.com

Yes. After being kicked off the cheerleading squad, Jadin's grades began to go downhill. He was also cited by the police for alcohol possession and he stole pain medication from his father. -Salon.com

A fact-check reveals that the real Jadin Bell had four siblings, a younger brother, Joseph Jr.; an older brother, Dustin; an older sister, Amber Lynn; and a stepsister, Ronda Eaton.

In the movie, Jadin Bell (Reid Miller) has a married mother and father, Lola Bell (Connie Britton) and Joe Bell (Mark Wahlberg). However, The New York Times referred to Lola Lathrop as Joe Bell's partner, not his wife. Looking at each of their Facebook pages seems to confirm this. Joe and Lola state in their bios that they are "in a relationship" with each other, not that they are married. However, it does appear that they are both Jadin's birth parents.

No. The Joe Bell true story reveals that while the school district did have anti-bullying policies, it appears it failed to enforce them in time to help. Jadin and his father had alerted the school's administration of the torment Jadin was enduring, and similar to the Joe Bell movie, they arranged an appointment for Jadin to see a guidance counselor. They didn't suspend any of the teens who were harassing Jadin until three weeks after his death when one of the bullies began to target someone else.

The Salon.com article points out that one of the issues is that a lot of people hear the term "bullying" and think of it as a child-like behavior, when in reality, it's assault. People often don't take it seriously enough until it's too late.

According to the true story behind Joe Bell, Jadin hung himself with a length of rope from a playground structure at Central Elementary, a local elementary school, on January 19, 2013. He had walked to the school in 20-degree weather. According to Salon.com, before taking his life, the 15-year-old texted his friend Tara and told her where his suicide note was located. The playground is in clear view from Sunset Dr. and is located directly across the street from Grande Ronde Hospital. It's unclear if Jadin thought it was possible he might be found in time to be saved.

When Joe Bell (portrayed by Mark Wahlberg in the movie) was 17 in 1982, he was in a difficult relationship with his father. He made the decision to kill himself and took the .22 caliber pistol from his father's bedroom in the middle of the night. He put the gun to his temple. The hammer was cocked but he didn't pull the trigger. Instead, he put the gun under his pillow and went to sleep. He woke the next day with a strong sense of purpose and joy. -Salon.com

After Jadin Bell's death, his father, Joe Bell, spent several months in a deep state of grief, unable to work. Ever since 1982, when Joe Bell was 17, he had been searching for the purpose of his life. For a long time, he concluded that his purpose was to be a father to his three sons. However, after Jadin's death, he realized that his purpose was to travel across America and tell Jadin's story, speaking to schools, community groups, church groups, Boy Scout troops, and basically anyone who would listen. His goal was to raise awareness of bullying. Prior to embarking, he said that he now knew what he was meant to do with his life. -Salon.com

After resigning from his job at the Boise Cascade plywood mill, Joe Bell began his journey on April 20, 2013, setting off from La Grande, Oregon. He had previously gone through two knee replacements and had to get a doctor's clearance before he could begin. Joe planned to walk 3,985 miles from La Grande to New York City, a journey that he figured would take him roughly a year and a half. He chose New York because his son Jadin had gone to the city on an eighth-grade class trip and became enamored with Manhattan. Jadin dreamed of moving there one day and working in fashion or photography (The New York Times). In order to help fund his walk, Joe's friends set up a nonprofit, Faces For Change, where people could make donations. He took along with him a GPS beacon, which updated his coordinates every hour.

***CONTAINS SPOILERS*** Joe Bell's walk came to an end on Wednesday, October 9, 2013. It was nearly six months after he began his trek to share the story of his son Jadin Bell's suicide after being tormented by bullies at school. While walking along the side of Highway 40, a rural two-lane road in eastern Colorado, Bell was struck by a tractor-trailer. State police said that the driver of the semi-truck had apparently fallen asleep at the wheel. Bell was pronounced dead at the scene.

News of Joe Bell's death came as a shock to those whose lives he had touched on his journey. With the release of the Mark Wahlberg movie, his message will undoubtedly reach more people than he could have imagined. Perhaps that message will encourage more schools to start taking active roles in actually stopping bullying instead of just adopting anti-bullying messaging. However, that's likely wishful thinking. With the advent of the internet and social media, the problem has become significantly worse.