Suicide Prevention Education on Campus

Harvard College's Active Minds chapter hosts Send Silence Packing®, a display of over 1000+ backpacks representing lives of students who have died by suicide every year.

Send Silence Packing event in Harvard Yard

Harvard College's Active Minds chapter hosted a compelling exhibit, Send Silence Packing®, a display of over 1000+ backpacks representing lives of students who have died by suicide every year, with personal stories, photos, and messages attached. The exhibit served as an invitation to have an open dialogue regarding suicide prevention and mental health resources at Harvard College.

Read about the 2nd annual Send Silence Packing® installation on Sept 23, 2022. (Crimson article: Display of 1,000 Backpacks in Harvard Yard, Representing Toll of Student Suicide, Seeks to ‘Send Silence Packing’.)
Active Minds in Harvard Yard on October 16th, 2021 (Read the Crimson article: A Wake-up Call.)

At the event were display tables with educational resources on mental health, suicide, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, along with interactive prompt cards and a circulating journal to encourage reflection.

Send Silence Packing logo (Active Minds)

The travelling exhibit to colleges around the country inspires action for suicide prevention, connects viewers to mental health resources, and jump starts action, catalyzing conversations in a way that contributes to a community’s overall positive climate for mental health. The personal stories from individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide are a powerful way to raise awareness, and the contribution of stories tied to the backpacks also become a meaningful outlet for the grief of survivors.

During the Exhibit:

Active Minds staff and volunteers were on hand at each stop, and equipped to discuss the importance of knowing the signs of suicide, intervening when a friend is in distress, and getting help for themselves when needed.
Trained professionals from Counseling and Mental Health Service (CAMHS) were onsite.
All signs and materials encouraged help seeking and mental health resources were distributed, such as the CAMHS Cares Mental Health Support Line for Students and peer counseling at Harvard College. Directions to walk around Harvard Yard to avoid the exhibit were communicated.

The Story Behind the Backpacks

For more than a decade, the Send Silence Packing® exhibit has traveled the country to end the silence that surrounds mental health and suicide and connect visitors with resources for support and action. And now, thanks to funding from RSM, Active Minds is proud to present a new digital immersive exhibit, Behind the Backpacks.

Visit the digital exhibit Behind the Backpacks

Designed as both a complement to the Active Minds iconic Send Silence Packing^® exhibit and as a stand-alone experience, visitors to this online gallery will learn about suicide’s impact, learn how their everyday actions can help to create a new and better culture around mental health with reduced suicide rates, and share their own message of hope by answering the simple question: what would you say to someone who’s struggling?

Send Silence Packing event in Harvard Yard - photo of a student lost to suicide

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What is Active Minds?

Active Minds is the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness, and education for young adults. The Harvard College Active Minds chapter, formerly SMHL (Student Mental Health Liaisons), collaborates with CAMHS, Wellness Tutors, Center for Wellness, and student groups to promote a supportive student community at Harvard.

Active Minds members facilitate dialogue about mental health and self-care, provide information about resources to seek help, and work towards destigmatizing mental illness on campus and nationwide.

Active Minds Harvard Chapter logo Are you a student interested in mental health promotion and suicide prevention education?