King Philip Regional Director of Wellness Dot Pearl and Principal Dr. Lisa Mobley are pleased to announce that King Philip Regional High School hosted Active Minds’ acclaimed “Send Silence Packing” display last week.
Throughout the school day on Monday, Sept. 19, King Philip Regional High School’s Active Minds chapter partnered with North Attleboro High School’s Active Minds chapter to host the traveling display that aims to end the silence that surrounds mental health and suicide, and connects visitors with resources for support and action.
The all-day display included personal stories from individuals who have lost a loved one to suicide as it’s designed to raise awareness about the impact of suicide, connect individuals to mental health resources and inspire action for suicide prevention. The display featured Send Silence Packing backpacks that have photographs and stories attached to them. Many of the backpacks were donated by families who lost a loved one to suicide.
Students also had the opportunity to access the virtual display, Send Silence Packing: Behind the Backpacks. This virtual, immersive experience gave users an in-depth look at the impact of suicide through personal stories, stigma reduction techniques and visual components such as videos, photos and audio.
To ensure all King Philip Regional High School students saw the display, each high school English class took turns visiting the athletic field to take time to read the backpacks on display. Additionally, approximately 130 kids from North Attleboro High School attended the display. Medfield and Mansfield Active Minds Advisors and their leaders attended as well.
During the display counseling professionals from King Philip and North Attleboro Schools, and also from Riverside Emergency Services, were available for any student needing support. Service dogs from Golden Opportunities for Independence also visited the school to support students.
The display at KPRHS was one of four displays to be hosted in Massachusetts this fall and the only one that will be displayed at a high school. The display was organized and advocated for by Matt Kelley, who is a senior at King Philip and the school’s Active Minds chapter president.
“I would like to once again thank Matt for applying to host this event at King Philip and for raising and securing funds from private donors to support this initiative,” Director Pearl said. “The display was extremely moving and meaningful for our students and it wouldn’t have been possible without the tremendous support we received from our and our partner’s Active Minds chapter volunteers.”
The event was funded by the KyleCares Foundation, KP and North Attleboro Active Minds chapters, the Justine Metz Charitable Trust and generous donations from community members.
“One of our school’s top priorities is to support mental health and wellness while also destigmatizing the topic for students who may be dealing with it and are afraid to speak up due to the misconceptions surrounding these topics,” Dr. Mobley said. “This display allowed us to immerse all of our students, not just those dealing with mental health, in stories and with resources surrounding mental health and suicide awareness. I thank everyone for their hard work in making this display possible and for those who attended who were extremely open and receptible to the messages this display offered.”
More information about Send Silence Packing or Behind the Backpacks can be found here.
About Active Minds
Active Minds is the nation’s premier nonprofit organization supporting mental health awareness and education for young adults. Active Minds has a presence at more than 800 campuses, schools, communities and workplaces nationwide, and is powered by a robust Chapter Network, the nationally acclaimed Send Silence Packing® display, inspiring Active Minds Speakers and the tailored Active Minds @Work initiative. The organization is dedicated to ending the silence and changing the conversation about mental health for everyone. To learn more, visitwww.activeminds.org.
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