LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Mental health advocates gathered at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on Tuesday, to put on a traveling display all about raising awareness for the impact of suicide and mental health challenges on college students.
Send Silence Packing was put together by the nonprofit Active Minds, a national organization looking to spread the word about mental health and share stories of people affected.
Eric Rockwood, a program associate with Active Minds, said the exhibit first started about 18 years ago with more than 1,000 backpacks covering the National Mall in Washington D.C.
Now it’s been scaled down to display 100 backpacks hanging in rows, each one paired with a personal story about lives lost to suicide. Rockwood said all the stories are donated by families, friends and sometimes survivors, and are unedited.
“It’s just letting students know that look, you’re going through stuff, college is a weird time, go reach out for help,” he said.
Members of UNL’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) partnered with Active Minds to put on the display, saying they hope to bring it back for future years and continue training others on how to prevent suicide.
Mariah Johnson, the outreach and suicide prevention coordinator, said CAPS been working to do those trainings throughout the year.
“Starting the conversation is the hardest part,” Johnson said. “Just start the conversation. It’s beyond important, you never know what someone is going through.”
The event was also an opportunity for students to write words of encouragement on a hope wall, and get access to mental health professionals and resources.
Rockwood said mental health is part of your body just like physical health, and you can always reach out for help.
“If I break my leg, you’re going to sound kind of goofy telling me to walk it off right,” Rockwood said. “I’m going to go to the doctor, I’m going to get a plan to help heal. Same thing for your mental health. If your brain is not feeling 100%, you can go to a doctor they can give you a plan and we’ll get through it together.”
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