Therapy animals are coming to Cal State Long Beach in conjunction with Send Silence Packing, a traveling exhibit hosted by Active Minds nonprofit organization and Project OCEAN.
In an effort to raise awareness about suicide and suicide prevention, Send Silence Packing will display 1,100 backpacks in front of the university bookstore Monday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Alongside the backpacks will be personal stories about victims of suicide and their loved ones. Each backpack represents one of the 1,100 college students who die by suicide each year according to the Active Minds website.
The organization collects these backpacks to honor those who have been affected by suicide. According to the Active Minds’ website, “By displaying backpacks with personal stories, Send Silence Packing puts a ‘face’ to lives lost to suicide and carries the message that preventing suicide is not just about improving statistics, but also about saving the lives of daughters, sons, brothers, sisters and friends across the nation.”
The exhibit began in 2008 at the National Mall in Washington, DC and has traveled across the country to educate students about mental health. Active Minds states, “[their] evaluations also show that the majority of visitors tell three or more people about Send Silence Packing and many reach out to a friend in need or seek help for themselves as a result of seeing the program.”
CSULB coordinator of service and emotional support animals Rachel Mahgerefteh believes that therapy animals will benefit students when they see the powerful backpack exhibit.
“I’m bringing the animal therapy booth to the event because it’s a sensitive issue and people might have strong emotions when they see the exhibit,” she said. “The animals will be there to help soothe their emotions.”
The therapy animals, including dogs and guinea pigs, will be provided by Beach Animals Reading with Kids Therapy Dogs, an all-volunteer program founded in 2007. The organization’s main function is to help children struggling to read through their anxiety. They also visits nursing homes, veterans centers and college campuses.
The pets have been trained and tested by certified individuals and can help with mental health issues such as anxiety, depression and post-traumatic stress disorder.
“Therapy dogs help to calm people and reduce stress,” BARK founder Josie Gavieres said.
Mahgerefteh has also seen how therapy animals can benefit mental health.
“It has been proven that after you pet an animal for about ten seconds, it reduces cortisol and it reduces your stress,” Mahgerefteh said. “Oxytocin, which is like the feel-good hormone, elevates in your system.”
Mahgerefteh also said that CSULB is one of the few universities that allows students to take their emotional support animals to class on a case-by-case basis.
She hopes that this event will encourage students to reach out and take care of their mental health.
Though spreading awareness of suicide may be a heavy message, organizations like Active Minds and BARK are dedicated to supporting those affected by it and preventing this common killer.
Any student seeking counseling, or feeling depressed is encouraged to take advantage of the available on-campus services, such as the Counseling and Psychological Services and Project OCEAN, whose mission is suicide prevention.