In an effort to shed light on the tragedy of college student suicide and start a dialogue about a heavily stigmatized topic, Active Minds at Active Minds at UNC Chapel Hill will be hosting Send Silence Packing, a public education display of 1,100 donated backpacks representing the 1,100 college students lost to suicide each year.
Send Silence Packing was developed by Active Minds, Inc., the leading voice for college student mental health in the United States. The national organization has collected and continues to collect backpacks and personal stories in memory of loved ones lost to suicide. By displaying backpacks with personal stories that put a “face” to the lives lost to suicide, Send Silence Packing carries the message that preventing suicide is not just about lowering statistics, but about saving the lives of students, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends across the nation.
Active Minds at UNC Chapel Hill encourages press and all members of the UNC community to come view the display at the quad on Monday, October 8, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the display will be held indoors (TBD location). The group will be passing out information about mental health, student suicide, and where to go to seek help.
To find out more about Send Silence Packing, please visit www.sendsilencepacking.org. For more details about the UNC display, please contact Rachael Datz at rachael@activeminds.org or at 202.332.9595 x.104.
Send Silence Packing will be on display on
the Plaza, located between Alpine and the Union Annex, at UNC’s campus.
We encourage you to stop by and let everyone you know to do the same.