Photo: Kim Tunnicliffe/WBZ NewsRadio
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (WBZ NewsRadio) — Active Minds brought their Send Silence Packing exhibit to Patriot Place on Thursday.
In partnership with the New England Patriots Foundation and KyleCares, the exhibit told the stories of young lives lost to suicide to encourage open conversations about mental health, decrease the stigma around mental health challenges and share resources for suicide prevention.
Participants looked at nearly 100 backpacks, each containing the personal story of young people who lost their lives to suicide. Active Minds staff and mental health officials were also available to offer help-seeking tactics and how to detect warning signs in their peers.
President of the New England Patriots Foundation Josh Kraft, alongside Active Minds and KyleCares representatives, spoke at the event Thursday morning.
“Send Silence Packing gives young people the opportunity to engage with mental health education in a nontraditional way that invites dialogue,” said Kraft. “We’re excited for the communities we’ve been working with closely for years to experience the exhibit.”
Founder and Executive Director of Active Minds Alison Malmon spoke to WBZ’s Kim Tunnicliffe about the importance of creating a dialogue around mental health.
“Mental health and suicide have been words that we’ve been afraid to talk about for generations,” said Malmon. “We talk about it so little that we all feel alone, and we all feel like it’s our own fault.”
Millis High School students attended the exhibit and were hit hard by the personal stories of suicide victims.
“There’s definitely times when I feel like I need to keep to myself when I have issues because I don’t think people are going to understand, or I may feel like I’m going to be judged,” said one of the students. “I’m definitely glad that we have this club Active Minds at our school. I know that I can have individuals that [I can go to] when I have issues.”
Schools and communities can sign up to be a part of Send Silence Packing on their website.
WBZ NewsRadio's Kim Tunnicliffe (@KimWBZ) reports.
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