Suicide claims the lives of more than 1,100 college students each year,
and each one of those deaths touches us all. Send Silence Packing is an award winning program by Active Minds Inc. to promote a dialogue about
mental health issues on campus and combat the incidence of student
suicide. Active Minds hopes that by empowering students and the student
voice in mental health awareness, we will see the day when mental
health issues are widely discussed, and the number of tragic deaths due
to suicide is reduced to 0.
Send Silence Packing
is an exhibit of 1,100 backpacks representing the number of college
student lives lost to suicide each year. Active Minds Inc. has
collected and continues to collect backpacks and personal stories in
memory or in honor of loved ones impacted by suicide. By displaying
backpacks with personal stories of loved ones that put a "face" to lives
lost to suicide, Send Silence Packing carries the message that
preventing suicide is not just about lowering statistics, but also about
saving the lives of students, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters and
friends across the nation. Contributions serve as a meaningful outlet
for survivors' grief as well as a powerful way to raise awareness and
work towards suicide prevention.
Since the inaugural display in 2008 on the National Mall in Washington, DC, Send Silence Packing has visited 39 cities in 19 states throughout the U.S.
Check out the Send Silence Packing Blog to see pictures of the displays, and read about the impact of Send Silence Packing across the country.
If you're interested in hosting an exhibit of Send Silence Packing you can fill out the interest form and we'll be in touch if we think it will be feasible to visit your community on our next tour.
Get Involved - Share Your Story
To contribute a backpack or personal story of someone lost
to suicide to be placed on the bags of our display, fill
out our secure online form here.
You can also mail a backpack to be added to the exhibit to: Attn: Candace Daniels, Active Minds 2001 S Street NW Suite 450, Washington DC 20009.
Donate to Active Minds, Inc. By supporting our work,you will help Active Minds continue to bring this important program to campuses and cities across the country.
Every display location needs volunteers to pull off the great event. Check back here for future display locations and dates.
"I have a story on my son's backpack. His name
is Eric
Hagen. He died 2-1/2 years ago at age
17. He was a person everyone
liked. Intelligent, creative, kind, nice-looking and going to college
to
be a Structural Engineer. He graduated high school a year early and
received many scholarships. He was an awesome young man. I have
attached
a picture of him and also the backpack. It means a lot to us that your
organization is doing these displays. Thank you!" - Donna Hagen
Chloe Damukaitis from Active Minds at Collin County Community College says:
"The whole idea of Active Minds excited me because I had finally found a place where it was okay to talk about what no one else would; I had found a place where depression was understood and people were willing to stand up and say something."
Programs/Events 
Since the inaugural display in 2008 on the National Mall in Washington, DC, Send Silence Packing has visited 39 cities in 19 states throughout the U.S.
"The whole idea of Active Minds excited me because I had finally found a place where it was okay to talk about what no one else would; I had found a place where depression was understood and people were willing to stand up and say something."
