Active Minds
Encyclopedia
Active Minds is a nonprofit organization
dedicated to raising mental health
awareness among college students, on the peer level.
, following the suicide
of her only sibling, 22-year-old brother Brian Malmon a year earlier. Troubled that her brother had struggled with depression
in silence, even though he maintained a full schedule of extra curricular activities and a superior grade point at Columbia University
, Alison was convinced that stigma and lack of information kept Brian from seeking help.
es that most often strike young people at the pinnacle of their educational careers, Alison launched a program to promote mental health awareness on her campus. Just two years later, Alison created the 501(c)3 organization which now works with students on more than two hundred campuses nationwide and has been recognized by national organizations and media for its innovative approach to combating stigma and promoting positive mental health. Active Minds now has 250 organizations on college campuses across the United States.
and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
, and National Day Without Stigma, occurring in October of every year, to kick off Mental Health Awareness Week.
The organization also hosts an annual Mental Health on Campus Conference in the fall, which is geared toward student and staff advocates and includes leadership development sessions led by the Wellstone Action Network, breakout sessions led by professionals in the mental health and campus communities, best-practice workshops led by student members of Active Minds, and plenary sessions led by some of the most esteemed individuals in the field. The conference is hosted by a different chapter of Active Minds every year and held on a college campus. The 2009 conference is planned for George Washington University
in Washington, DC on November 13 and 14.
Contributions serve as a meaningful outlet for survivors' grief as well as a powerful way to raise awareness and work towards suicide prevention. The Send Silence Packing display was first hosted on the National Mall in Washington, DC in April 2008 with over 10,000 visitors and special guest speaker Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), and traveled to the University of Pennsylvania as a display at the annual Active Minds Conference in November 2008. The program is set to travel to college campuses, public spaces, and state house lawns over the next 24 months. Send Silence Packing is an aggressive campaign by Active Minds Inc. to promote a dialogue about mental health issues on campus and combat the incidence of student suicide.
Nonprofit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
dedicated to raising mental health
Mental health
Mental health describes either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life activities and...
awareness among college students, on the peer level.
History
Active Minds was founded in 2001 by Alison Malmon, then a junior at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, following the suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
of her only sibling, 22-year-old brother Brian Malmon a year earlier. Troubled that her brother had struggled with depression
Clinical depression
Major depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
in silence, even though he maintained a full schedule of extra curricular activities and a superior grade point at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, Alison was convinced that stigma and lack of information kept Brian from seeking help.
Mental health awareness
Determined to combat the stigma and address the lack of awareness about mental illnessMental illness
A mental disorder or mental illness is a psychological or behavioral pattern generally associated with subjective distress or disability that occurs in an individual, and which is not a part of normal development or culture. Such a disorder may consist of a combination of affective, behavioural,...
es that most often strike young people at the pinnacle of their educational careers, Alison launched a program to promote mental health awareness on her campus. Just two years later, Alison created the 501(c)3 organization which now works with students on more than two hundred campuses nationwide and has been recognized by national organizations and media for its innovative approach to combating stigma and promoting positive mental health. Active Minds now has 250 organizations on college campuses across the United States.
Five programs
To engage students in a national movement, Active Minds, Inc. has developed five programs that are implemented by their chapters all across the country. These programs include National Stress Out Day, occurring in April of every year and cosponsored with the Anxiety Disorders Association of AmericaAnxiety Disorders Association of America
The Anxiety Disorders Association of America is the only U.S. nonprofit organization solely dedicated to increasing awareness and improving the diagnosis, treatment, and cure of anxiety disorders in children and adults. The Anxiety Disorders Association of America is the leader in education,...
and National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK is a suicide prevention network of 132 crisis centers in the United States, that provides a 24-hour, toll-free hotline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. After dialing 1-800-273-TALK, the caller is routed to their...
, and National Day Without Stigma, occurring in October of every year, to kick off Mental Health Awareness Week.
The organization also hosts an annual Mental Health on Campus Conference in the fall, which is geared toward student and staff advocates and includes leadership development sessions led by the Wellstone Action Network, breakout sessions led by professionals in the mental health and campus communities, best-practice workshops led by student members of Active Minds, and plenary sessions led by some of the most esteemed individuals in the field. The conference is hosted by a different chapter of Active Minds every year and held on a college campus. The 2009 conference is planned for George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
in Washington, DC on November 13 and 14.
Two other programs
Two other programs created and managed by Active Minds include an Emerging Scholars Fellowship and a public advocacy campaign called Send Silence Packing.Emerging Scholars Fellowship
The Emerging Scholars Fellowship was created to support behavioral health research by college-aged scholars. It provides an opportunity for students to complete funded, self-designed mental health projects and to be connected with a network of young scholars and national experts in the field of behavioral health. Emerging Scholars is committed to the cultivation of the next generation of advocates and experts, and funds six months of independent research and public dissemination for up to six college-aged scholars each year.Send Silence Packing
Send Silence Packing is an exhibit of 1,100 backpacks representing the 1,100 college students who die by suicide every year. Active Minds Inc. has collected backpacks and personal stories in memory or in honor of individuals affected by suicide. By displaying backpacks with personal stories that put a ‘face' to lives lost to suicide, Send Silence Packing carries the message that preventing suicide is not just about lowering statistics, but about saving the flesh and blood lives of students, daughters, sons, brothers, sisters and friends across the nation.Contributions serve as a meaningful outlet for survivors' grief as well as a powerful way to raise awareness and work towards suicide prevention. The Send Silence Packing display was first hosted on the National Mall in Washington, DC in April 2008 with over 10,000 visitors and special guest speaker Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), and traveled to the University of Pennsylvania as a display at the annual Active Minds Conference in November 2008. The program is set to travel to college campuses, public spaces, and state house lawns over the next 24 months. Send Silence Packing is an aggressive campaign by Active Minds Inc. to promote a dialogue about mental health issues on campus and combat the incidence of student suicide.