A Thousand Backpacks with a Thousand Stories

By Keyon B. Gardner | Published September 30, 2022

More than a thousand lives were cut short as a result of suicide caused by mental health illnesses that plague our country today.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the majority of suicides worldwide are related to mental health disorders; depression, substance use, and psychosis are the biggest risk factors. 

To honor and remember the lives lost due to suicide and to prevent future suicides, The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), partnered with Active Minds program “Send Silence Packing”.

Active Minds is a non-profit organization that has for more than a decade traveled across the country to end the silence that surrounds mental health and suicide.

The Send Silence Packing program brought their display of 1000 backpacks to Kean University’s Downs Hall on Sept. 13. Stories that exemplified the harsh reality of what most people go through who haven’t received the proper help they needed were linked to each backpack.

Erin Lester, Program Coordinator for Student Affairs in The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion said, “Each of the backpacks is in connection to someone’s story that died by suicide.”

Lester and The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion worked together diligently to bring suicide awareness to the students at Kean because of the lack of recognition it has among teenagers and young adults.

 “I think it would be important for our students to realize the magnitude of the problem because mental health problems in general are often dismissive,” Lester said. 

The stories at Visiting the Send Silence Packing event had spectators empathizing for those who never got to see and experience their son or daughter grow up,  all because they were bullied, or misunderstood. 

Everyone knows somebody who is struggling, but when does the world recognize their struggle and offer them a helping hand? When do we stop to notice the change in attitude, and the change in character.  Many people suffer in silence and it should be a combined effort to take the initiative to end that silence and speak up. 

The children who never got to experience their eighteenth birthday, the children who never got to drive their first car, the children who never got to experience their first love. The children who never even had a chance because their struggle wasn’t recognized.

“You might read a letter of someone whose best friend, or someone’s nephew, or niece, or someone they’re in relation to reflecting on their life in a positive way. We wanted to showcase those stories because sometimes it might feel like you’re unloved. You have no idea the amount of love that people are trying to show you and you certainly are not alone in that experience,” Lester said. 

Erin Flatus, a Send Silence Packing tour coordinator, expressed his concern for the population of people who suffer with mental health but don’t have the knowledge or resources to reach out for help. 

“At the end of the day what we really want to get out of this, is leaving people feeling more confident and able to be there for the people in their life that they care about. It’s important to empower them to reach out when they feel alone and isolated to friends and professionals when they need it,” Flatus said.

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