DUNMORE, Pa. — Inside Penn State Scranton's Study Learning Center, students participated in the 'IMALIVE' Mental Health Fair.
The event on Tuesday provided students with a comfortable space to find resources and talk openly if they are struggling with their mental health.
“I feel like attacking the stigmas and being able to come together and knowing that facts around it could lower the stigma,” said John Evans, Penn State Scranton student.
The initiative began more than a decade ago with Reese Butler and Denise Burne. Both had loved ones who died by suicide.
They made it their mission, traveling to college campuses across the country, to advocate for suicide prevention.
“People would come up to the car and knock on the window and say thank you for doing this or they'd say can you help me, there's no help here, please help me now I'm suicidal,” said Reese Butler, suicide prevention advocate.
The event does not only get people help, it is also so they can recognize the signs.
“Suicide is an act of hopelessness and to relieve the pain,” said Denise Burne, suicide prevention advocate. “If you can get the person from that point through the hopelessness, usually they move on and they're okay.”
Many area organizations offer training to give people the tools to help others who are struggling.
“With QPR, question, persuade and refer, you learn the warning signs, you learn how to ask the question and you learn how to persuade them to get help and where is that help,” said Butler.
If you are struggling with mental health, getting help is as easy as calling the suicide and crisis lifeline at 988.
Check out WNEP's YouTube channel,