DeKALB – Send Silence Packing, an exhibit created by Active Minds, showcased stories of those affected by suicide to increase awareness for suicide prevention on Wednesday in the MLK Commons.

Jehlad Hickson, an exhibit coordinator for the event, said the backpacks represent stories of people who have experienced suicide themselves or have lost someone to suicide.

“There are different sections of stories. There are stories of loss and stories of hope,” Hickson said. “Each story in each section has people who have either attempted or succeeded in suicide.”

Sarah Triolo, a doctoral intern counselor who is in her final year of a doctorate in psychology, said that the signs that someone needs help can vary. 

“Sometimes it’s more clear than others in friends who may be struggling with thoughts of suicide,” Triolo said. “If you see someone withdrawing both socially and from things that they usually enjoy, that’s a little bit of a red flag. If you notice them giving prized possessions away, that’s also another thing to look out for.” 

Triolo said that Send Silence Packing is about making it normal to have hard conversations and giving students a space to do so. 

“I think opening up the conversation as directly as you can compassionately about suicide. That’s kind of the purpose here,” Triolo said. “It can really just open that up where someone could maybe feel more comfortable directly talking about the thoughts that they’re having.” 

Mandira Srivastava, a full-time senior staff counselor at Counselor and Consultation Services, said she was there to provide support or direct students to support services if the exhibit caused emotions to come up for them.

“There’s this common misconception that if you bring up suicide, you might put that idea into their head. If you bring it up, it actually makes them feel more comfortable sharing things with you,” Srivastava said. “They know that you’re a safe person to come to, that you won’t be judgmental and you will actually listen to them and maybe help them. So bringing it up is completely OK.” 

TJ Fields is an exhibit coordinator for Active Minds. Fields said the loss of a close friend drives him to let students know help is available.

“I had a really close near and dear friend who actually committed suicide in high school,” Fields said.​ “So for me, this hits harder than most people know. This is a really personal experience for me to let people know that they’re not alone and there is help and resources available to them.”

Fields said that students stopping by at the exhibit shared their own stories with him.  

“Even here today, I’ve experienced a couple of stories that are very heartfelt. I was glad to refer them to the right people today,” Fields said. 

Conner Knowles, a freshman biological sciences major, said it was good for students to know it’s normal to reach out to friends who seem like they are struggling. 

“You read all these stories about all these different people and what they went through and you realize most of these people, they seemed completely normal,” Knowles said. “They didn’t seem like they had problems when they took their own lives.”

Knowles acknowledged that suicide is a hard subject for students to talk about. 

“If you need to go and reach out, please, just reach out. Get that extra help you need. No one wants to see you go. There are people that want you here, even if you don’t feel like it,” Knowles said.

For more information on resources regarding mental health, visit Active Minds website.