UCLA was our final stop on the first ever Fall tour for Send Silence Packing. Active Minds has a huge presence on campus with over 75 members and dozens of new signups throughout the display. We lucked out with sunshine the entire tour and UCLA was perfect weather to wrap things up.

Even though this was our final display we know that the message will continue growing. One visitor said “the first thing I did today was take a picture, send it to my friends, and tell them that this is something they need to see.” We are used to measuring the impact during the event itself as we see thousands of students, staff, and community members pass through each display, but it’s important to remember how long that message continues to echo.

I always see people taking pictures of the backpacks with their phones. These pictures then go onto Facebook walls, twitter feeds, blogs, texts messages, and more. Each display’s impact carries on through our voices and through our sharing. We are always thrilled to see this happening because it’s one of our core ideas: starting the conversation about mental health. Although anyone can help us work towards this goal, we encourage students to take a look at their local Active Minds chapter. If there isn’t one yet, anyone can start one! I spoke a little with Lehren, the chapter president at UCLA about her experiences with being a part of a chapter, which you can hear below.

Thank you everyone at UCLA for your hard work before, during, and after the event as we all work together to continue this message.