ABINGTON, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — An organization behind a suicide prevention exhibit has showcased it in the Philadelphia area, resuming its national tour for the first time since the pandemic began.
Active Minds, a national non-profit organization based on Washington, D.C., assembled 1,000 backpacks and placed them Wednesday on the pathways of Penn State Abington.
Its "Send Silence Packing" traveling suicide prevention exhibit is part of the organization's effort to change the conversation about mental health. They put book bags or backpacks on pathways and benches of high schools and colleges throughout the country.
About 200 of the bags have stories and photos attached to honor those young adults who died by suicide.
“It felt like walking through a graveyard or battlefield," Penn State freshman Diana Phsichnyk said. "It makes you think about the important things in life.”
One of those backpacks honors Mathew Dille. He was a Souderton Area High School senior when he died in 2014.
His mother, Patti Dille, was talking with students about available resources and sharing her son’s story.
Related
“We lose over a thousand college students to suicide every year, so this is really making a difference and bringing awareness," Patti Dille said.
"It is difficult maybe to see, but I think it’s going to get people talking and being aware."
She encourages others to get involved, break the silence and become active advocates for suicide prevention and awareness.
