When Alison Malmon lost her older brother to suicide while she was studying at the University of Pennsylvania, no one knew how to talk about the mental illness that led to his death.
Brian was a standout high school student, but he experienced depression and psychosis once he got to college and didn’t tell anyone about his symptoms.
“Nobody was talking about mental health issues,” said Malmon, who soon after founded Active Minds, a national nonprofit dedicated to fighting the stigma surrounding mental illness. “Students who are experiencing this need to know there’s hope.”
Active Minds has spread to more than 400 college campuses since the early 2000s, even opening a chapter at UC Santa Barbara that recently hosted a “Send Silence Packing” exhibit to illustrate the number of college students who commit suicide annually by displaying 1,100 backpacks.
Malmon was in town this week to tell her story in a public presentation called “Changing the Conversation about Mental Health” at Santa Barbara City College. She answered questions from the media during a briefing before the talk.
Malmon’s visit was made possible through a partnership between the Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness and SBCC, along with grant funds from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
She marveled at the local collaboration dedicated to early treatment of mental health issues, noting that half of those with depression report symptoms by age 20.
Because two-thirds of all students are more likely to tell a friend about issues before they see a professional, SBCC has focused its Wellness Connection program on peer health advisers.
“Relationships are our active treatment,” said Roxane Pate, a program adviser with SBCC Student Health.
More than $90,000 in federal grant funds help the county Department of Behavioral Wellness bolster SBCC’s five peer advisers and other educational outreach efforts, including information pamphlets, a mobile campus kiosk and free speakers like Malmon.
Although the department has been receiving similar grants for years — historically also assisting UCSB and Allan Hancock College — the most recent funds expiring in September relate to young adults seeking treatment for a first episode of psychosis.
Research has shown that the average time it takes from when symptoms first appear to treatment is one to two years, Department of Behavioral Wellness Chief Quality Care and Strategy Officer Suzanne Grimmesey said.
“That’s appalling,” she said.
At SBCC, where the first iteration of its Wellness Connection program started in the 1990s, counselors are seeing students battling with prescription drug abuse, sexual assault and consent, online bullying and more.
Peer health advisers like Blaise Lemos build connections with fellow students and let them know that as a health fee-paying student, they can receive six free personal counseling sessions each semester at SBCC.
Lemos, who struggled with depression, said social media has become both a positive and negative outlet for emotions — but an outlet nonetheless.
Malmon agreed, heartened because the conversation surrounding mental illness has already changed so much since she founded Active Minds.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.