Active Minds Programs & Campaigns
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…
Five Ways Youth Champions Can Practice Suicide Prevention
Last year, more than 49,000 people were victims of suicide, the highest ever recorded in U.S. history. Although talking about mental health and suicide can be challenging, it is a conversation that we can’t avoid. Every year, too many young lives are impacted by mental health challenges, making suicide a significant concern. That’s where what…
Meet the 2023-2024 Active Minds Student Advisory Committee (And Learn How They Can Help You!)
The Active Minds Student Advisory Committee (SAC) is made up of fifteen young adult leaders who represent the Active Minds student voice nationally through media and other student forums. They also advise Active Minds national staff on student engagement, community building, program planning, Chapter engagement and management, National Conference planning, and program promotion. Powered by…
How to Put Mental Health First This School Year (And Get Others to Join You)
Pencils? Check. Notebooks? Check. The planner you were obsessed with that you’ll use diligently for one week and then forget about? Also, check. As you prepare to head back to school this fall, it’s just as important to check in with your mental health (and the well-being of your friends and peers!) as it is…
Combatting Stigma Surrounding Asian American Mental Health Using Language
Being Asian and Filipino, it was so challenging to talk about my mental health, particularly due to the stigma in my family and community. As a college professor currently visiting the United States (but who was raised in the Philippines, a dominantly Catholic country), I observed from a young age how mental health issues, such…
How to Support the Mental Health of First-Generation Students
Isolation. No one ever told me how hard it would be to navigate my mental health as one of the many first-generation students entering college each year. I sat in my single dorm room for 48 hours after my guardian moved me in to avoid interacting with the people living on my floor. I sat…
Five Reasons to Attend the Active Minds Mental Health Conference
For many months I worked with the Active Minds team to prepare for the first in-person Mental Health Conference in almost three and a half years. The months leading up to the Conference felt like an eternity in anticipation, but once it started, the two days at the Conference flew by. Looking back at those…
New Research on BIPOC Mental Health Debuted at Active Minds Conference
Our Emerging Scholars Fellowship, generously supported by the Scattergood Foundation, allows young adults nationwide to expand the research and discourse surrounding BIPOC mental health through an antiracism lens. Over the past six months, our Emerging Scholars worked tirelessly to collect and analyze data and grapple with topics that profoundly impact the livelihood of the BIPOC…
What is Community Care (and Why Does It Matter)?
Self-care has become one of the most talked about topics in the conversation of mental health. It dominates the online discourse, has found niches in countless industries, and has helped remove some of the stigmas around taking care of your well-being, whether it be through therapy, journaling, or even just resting. Self-care is critical to…
Calling Gen Z: Let’s Talk About Mental Health
When I founded Active Minds nearly twenty years ago, a few things were clear to me. First, we needed to open up the conversation about mental health — stigma was incredibly pervasive, and far too many people were struggling in silence. Second, I knew where I had to start: college campuses. Young adults were going…
Active Minds is the nation’s leading nonprofit organization promoting mental health awareness and education for young adults.