Suicide claims the lives of more than 1,100 college students each year, and each one of those deaths touches us all. “Send Silence Packing” is an award winning program by Active Minds Inc. to promote a dialogue about mental health issues on campus and combat the incidence of student suicide.
Active Minds hopes that by empowering students and the student voice in mental health awareness, everyone will see the day when mental health issues are widely discussed, and the number of tragic deaths due to suicide is reduced to zero.
On November 9, the UCF Active Minds Chapter hosted the “9th Active Minds National Mental Health on Campus Conference.” It is the only national conference addressing college student mental health and young adult advocacy. The event brought together hundreds of experts, change-agents and leaders from across the country and focused on to educate, energize and inspire the next generation of mental health advocates.
The Send Silence Packing display, held in front of the Student Union, was an exhibit of 1,100 backpacks representing the number of college student lives lost to suicide each year. Active Minds Inc. has collected and continues to collect backpacks and personal stories in memory or in honor of loved ones impacted by suicide. By displaying backpacks with personal stories of loved ones connects a “face” to lives lost to suicide.
The display carries the message that preventing suicide is not just about lowering statistics, but also about saving the lives of students, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters and friends across the nation. Contributions serve as a meaningful outlet for survivors’ grief as well as a powerful way to raise awareness and work towards suicide prevention. To view the video, visit: vimeo.com/53327630 [1].
To share a story, visit: www.activeminds.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=88&Itemid=129 [2].