Active Minds Programs & Campaigns
Finding Connection at Send Silence Packing®
Connection. I left our most recent stop of Send Silence Packing® (SSP) with this word brimming at the top of my mind. Although I’m fairly new to Active Minds, I didn’t expect the exhibit to have this kind of impact on me as one of the staff members supporting the event. However, I found that…
Uplifting BIPOC-Centered Mental Health Research With the 2024 Emerging Scholars
Active Minds is proud to introduce our 2024 Emerging Scholars Fellows! The Emerging Scholar Fellowship, generously supported by the Scattergood Foundation for Behavioral Health and Macy’s, is a unique opportunity for students who identify as Black, Indigenous, and/or Persons of Color (BIPOC) to work on their own groundbreaking mental health-related independent research. Active Minds is…
What to Expect at the 2024 Active Minds Mental Health Conference
The Active Minds Mental Health Conference is unlike any other. I had the privilege of helping to plan the conference as part of the Student Advisory Committee in 2022 and 2023, though I still walked in like it was my first time. The culture at the conference was incredible, and I left feeling seen and…
How Active Minds Speakers Can Help You Create Lasting Mental Health Change
Research shows that peer-to-peer outreach is the best way to reduce the stigma that surrounds mental health and to encourage people to seek help if they need it. Since 2009, the Active Minds Speakers have provided mental health outreach for students and young adults nationwide, sharing their personal stories regarding mental health struggles and resilience….
Simple Ways to Bring Mental Health Conversations to Your School This Year
For many of us, mental health has become intertwined into our everyday conversations — chatting with our friends about daily stressors, reading social media posts about managing anxiety, and meeting with a therapist when things feel out of control. However, as commonplace as mental health can feel to some of us, that simply isn’t the…
Celebrating the Past, Mobilizing the Future: 20 Years of Active Minds
It’s December. As we spend the holiday season gathered together with family and friends, this time of year is often marked by connection and reflection. For me, this rings especially true on the anniversary of our founding month as I think about the work and powerful impact that the Active Minds community has accomplished over…
Why (And How) Every Community Should “Send Silence Packing®”
Content Warning: This piece contains mentions of suicide. Send Silence Packing® (SSP) is a traveling exhibit with the purpose of opening the conversation about mental health issues that we all face on a daily basis while also providing attendees with the resources available to them on a community and national level. I decided to become…
Your Voice is Your Power… So Start Telling Your Story
Self-advocacy is a powerful tool, especially as we navigate a world with systems that are not structured to serve us. To me, as an immigrant, queer Latina, it is important to understand all of the factors that have played into my mental well-being. Growing up in a Hispanic household where mental health was not talked…
Making Space for Mental Health at Your Community College
Picture this: It’s my first semester at Central New Mexico Community College (CNMCC), and I’m knee-deep in textbooks, navigating the maze of college life. Like many of us, I was eager to learn and grow but realized that the pressures of academia can sometimes take a toll on our mental health. Stress, self-doubt, and the…
Behind the Scenes of the Fall 2023 Send Silence Packing® Tour
For over a decade, the Active Minds Send Silence Packing® (SSP) display has traveled the country to end the silence surrounding mental illness and suicide. Send Silence Packing® encourages attendees to seek support for themselves, friends, or loved ones, with trained professionals available on-site and thousands of mental health resources distributed to community members at…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.