More than 1,000 backpacks representing the number of college students who die by suicide each year will be on display at NIU’s MLK Commons on Oct. 11 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Many of the backpacks were donated by families who lost a loved one to suicide, and visitors are invited to walk among the backpacks, see the photographs and read the stories attached to them.
Send Silence Packing will be on display in the MLK Commons on Oct. 11, 2022.
“It is so important to normalize and destigmatize mental health struggles,” said Andrea Drott, associate director of Student Wellness for Counseling and Consultation Services (CCS). “When students know there are people on campus ready to help them, it can make such a positive impact on their ability and desire to reach out.”
Tim Paquette, director of Counseling, shared the sentiment.
“Send Silence Packing is an opportunity to increase awareness and provide strategies to help others who are experiencing thoughts of suicide and other mental health concerns,” Paquette said.
Send Silence Packing is presented by Active Minds, a nonprofit organization that empowers students to speak openly about mental health in order to educate others and encourage them to seek help. It was founded by University of Pennsylvania college student, Alison Malmon, following the suicide of her brother, Brian. For more than a decade, the in-person immersive display has been traveling to college campuses to end the silence that surrounds mental health and suicide.
“This is an incredibly impactful program,” Drott said. “College student suicide is a challenging subject; this is such a poignant way to remind students that if they are struggling, they are not alone and there are resources available.”
Paquette said NIU has many mental health services available right on campus, and there is also services and support available in surrounding communities.
“If anyone is unsure of where to go or how to help a student, they can always call Counseling and Consultation Services (815-753-1206) and we will help,” Paquette said. “CCS support is available 24-hours-a day.”
In conjunction, NIU is hosting a Community Resource Fair at MLK commons from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. In case of inclement weather, the event will take place inside the Holmes Student Center on the ground floor in the OASIS space.
If you are interested in volunteering (set up at 7:30 a.m. and tear down at 4 p.m.) please complete the Send Silence Packing volunteer form.
