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Southern Illinois University Edwardsville’s Stratton Quad was blanketed with 1,100 backpacks on Monday, Sept. 12 to raise awareness about suicide prevention. The empty backpacks and the stories displayed on them offered an emotional representation of the number of college students who die by suicide each year.

The Send Silence Packing display is presented by Active Minds, the leading national nonprofit that empowers students to speak openly about mental health in order to educate others and to encourage seeking help. The powerful exhibit was sponsored by SIUE’s iCARE (Initiative to Create Awareness, Recognition, and Education on Suicide Prevention).

Student volunteers and iCARE representatives shared information with the SIUE community about suicide prevention and available campus resources as they stopped to view the display.

“The sight of this is attention-grabbing for students,” said senior Rosalyn Bryant. “These are stories of actual people who have committed suicide. At one point, two students walked up to read the stories and they told me it hit close to home. It’s a taboo subject to a lot of people, but it’s more common than you know.”

“I have people in my life who struggle with depression and have attempted suicide before,” added Logan Richardson, a junior pre-nursing major. “Volunteering to share information on where people can go on campus for support and raising awareness on this topic is incredibly important.”

The traveling Send Silence Packing exhibit visits approximately 20 colleges and universities annually. The event, along with others held Sept. 5-11 on campus during International Suicide Prevention Awareness Week, are part of SIUE’s initiative to improve mental health awareness and student access to services.

iCARE is a multi-tiered collaboration between the SIUE Schools of Pharmacy and Nursing, and Counseling Services through a secured grant through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

For more information on iCARE, contact Kelly Gable, PharmD, associate professor of pharmacy practice in the SIUE School of Pharmacy, at kgable@siue.edu or Lisa Thompson-Gibson, counselor and suicide prevention project coordinator at lithomp@siue.edu.

Photos: The Send Silence Packing exhibit displayed 1,100 backpacks on SIUE’s Stratton Quad on Monday, Sept. 12, in representation of the number of college students who die by suicide each year.

SIUE students stopped between classes to read the stories included on the backpacks on display at the Send Silence Packing event.