DeKALB – NIU’s Counseling and Consultation Services in partnership with Active Minds will host their annual Send Silence Packing event to emphasize the importance of suicide awareness. The event emphasizes the fact that there is always help out there for those who are struggling. 

The event will be hosted from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at MLK Commons.

The annual Send Silence Packing event began in  2008 and is an exhibit with the purpose to end the silence surrounding mental health and suicide, according to the Active Minds website.

During the Send Silence Packing event, there will be backpacks placed around MLK Commons with stories of people who have been lost to suicide. There will be mental health professionals available for students to speak to.

If students wish to avoid the backpack display, there will be an alternative route available, also at MLK Commons.

As part of the Send Silence Packing event, there will also be a display titled Behind the Backpacks, a virtual experience that shares personal stories along with ideas of how to change the culture surrounding mental health.

Active Minds is a national nonprofit organization focused on changing the culture surrounding mental health by providing resources and events, according to their website.

If in the event of inclement weather, the event will be held in the OASIS pit in the Holmes Student Center.

For more information about the event, students can visit the NIU Events Calendar or the Active Minds website.