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‘Send Silence Packing’ sheds light on suicide prevention, ‘breaks down stigma’

Students take a moment to read the stories of hundreds of people who committed suicide.

Parents, students and members of the Long Beach community showed up to pay their respects to the students lost to suicide each year and to help spread the word about suicide prevention at Cal State Long Beach’s first “Send Silence Packing” event on Thursday.

“[People’s reactions] are positive and emotional,” said Elani Cuvas, student volunteer for Project Ocean. “If one person speaks, it makes it easier for others to speak and ask questions.”

The 1,100 backpacks laid out across the lawn and the stories they presented spurred emotions from everyone as students walked past the Speaker’s Platform to get to and from class. Of the backpacks, 400 were personalized with a story about someone who committed suicide.

“Silence is what is causing all these deaths,” said Jane Duong, program assistant coordinator for Project Ocean. “We want to let people know that they are not alone, there is help on campus and we can send the silence packing.”

Each backpack represented someone who committed suicide; a majority of the stories were about college-level students. However, there were also stories about people as young as 15 years old.

The stories were written by loved ones and attached to the backpacks along with a picture. Students were attracted to the multitude of backpacks, but they stayed to read the stories.

The Send Silence Packing tour was focused on bringing awareness to college campuses about the unspoken topic of suicide, because silence is the real issue. People who visited the backpacks and tables were given information on the many resources CSULB provides to students.

The organizations offered workshops on suicide prevention and crisis management. A crafts table allowed people to draw a personal message on a sheet that would later be bounded to create a collection of uplifting messages from fellow CSULB students.

“We are trying to break down a stigma — it’s OK to ask for services,” said Keishawn Anderson, president of the CSULB Active Minds’ 2011-12 chapter. “We want to create a culture at CSULB that creates wellness.”

There was a special table for backpacks donated by clubs and organizations that have been touched by the ripple effects of suicide. Eight backpacks were donated and personalized, and were put on display at the table. The backpacks had personal attachments, such as pictures, bandanas and shoes. Other backpacks were visibly worn out, dusty and full of holes.

The department of Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS), Project Ocean, CSULB’s Active Minds and other campus organizations were present at the suicide awareness and prevention event, where people were exposed to the outcome of a suicide and what someone can do to intervene in the event of a crisis.


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