The following is an excerpt of a WAND-TV story published on Oct. 6, 2022.
"University of Illinois Springfield students are raising awareness on college mental health.
Today 1,000 backpacks lined the Quad with stories of those who lost their lives to suicide. The backpacks were part of the "Send Silence Packing" project by national organization Active Minds.
"This is a traveling display that inspires action for suicide prevention through story sharing, connecting students and people to counseling and just sharing those resources and really starting a conversation around something that is considered such a taboo topic, "said Kelsey Pacetti, the Send Silence Packing Display Coordinator"