After making it through a typical morning commute stuck in L.A. traffic, we were welcomed to the beautiful University of Southern California campus by plenty of volunteers. We got straight to work unpacking the backpacks and setting out our materials while learning about the local resources available to students. Right from the start, we had a terrific outpouring of support from graduate students, parents on college tours, international students, and more. One program volunteer even had experience–he had even seen the SSP display at last month’s Alive & Running 5K display!

One woman who was unfamiliar with Active Minds asked all about the organization. She was quite interested in the cause and was happy to hear we were raising awareness about suicide and mental health. “Mental illness has run in my family for a long time,” she told me. “It started with my father and has trickled down the family tree ever since.”

“My brother, my only brother, was found dead by suicide at age 30. It was a while ago, and no one wanted to talk about it back then. He left behind three little kids, too.” 

She also talked about why suicide awareness is so important to her now. “Now that my brother’s kids are young adults, I need to know they won’t end up in the same place he did. His suicide nearly ruined our family. This is such important work because I want to make sure our future generations won’t be afraid to get help.”

We always love people to take an interest in Active Minds no matter what their age. Suicide effects every generation, and the more people are willing to open up and communicate, the better off we’ll be in seeking and receiving help. 

Given that our display was taking place during midterms, we were thankful that so many people took an interest in reading the stories throughout Send Silence Packing. In fact, so many people took an interest in our display at USC that in addition to us handing out over a thousand informational flyers, USC got a record 35 signups to grow their small Active Minds chapter! 

Despite nearing the end of our California Fall tour, we really enjoyed meeting the teams of volunteers and USC employees who helped bring SSP to the campus. We were right in the middle of downtown Los Angeles, but with the tropical trees and cool breeze, you’d never know it. An improv group performed nearby, students hustled to the library, ROTC training was in effect, and tour groups were going by all the time, but all of the activity just gave us the chance to reach out to more people from so many different backgrounds. We’re so appreciative that we got a chance to meet everyone at USC and hear so many more stories–and we’re thankful to all the interested bikers and skateboarders who grabbed a flier while on the go!