HCCC Wins National Award for Mental Health Work

Maria Santos, a single mom from Union City, was folding laundry Tuesday night when her phone buzzed with a text from her daughter, a freshman at Hudson County Community College. “Mom, we’re doing this cool thing at school about mental health,” it read. “Can you come?”

That “cool thing” was “Send Silence Packing®,” a powerful traveling exhibit of backpacks that represent the 1,100-plus U.S. college students lost to suicide each year. And this spring, it became the centerpiece of HCCC’s push to get people talking — a push that just earned the college a national honor.

HCCC is the recipient of the Insight Into Academia 2026 Excellence in Mental Health and Well-Being Award. The award, announced earlier this month, recognizes the college’s work in creating a campus where asking for help isn’t a sign of weakness.

What the award means

The Insight Into Academia awards celebrate colleges and universities that go beyond the usual counseling center brochure. They look for real programs, real outreach, and real impact. HCCC’s Mental Health Counseling & Wellness Office, in partnership with the student-run Active Minds Club, brought “Send Silence Packing®” to campus this past spring.

If you haven’t seen it, the exhibit is hard to forget. Row after row of backpacks — some with photos, some with notes — laid out on the ground, each one representing a life lost. It’s the kind of display that makes you stop, and maybe cry, and definitely think.

But the exhibit wasn’t the whole story. The college paired it with workshops, open conversations, and on-the-spot access to counselors. Students could walk through the display, then walk straight into a safe space to talk about what they were feeling.

Why this matters in Hudson County

Here’s the thing about our community: We’re dense, diverse, and often struggling in silence. Many of our residents are first-generation college students, balancing work, family, and a commute that can eat two hours a day. Mental health care can feel like a luxury when you’re just trying to get by.

For HCCC students — many of whom live in Jersey City, Union City, and West New York — this award says their college sees them. It says that a kid who just moved here from another country, or a 40-year-old going back to school at night, can find a place to land.

It also gives parents like Maria something to hold onto. “I didn’t know they had things like this,” she told me. “Now I might actually go to that event with her.”

What people are saying

“This award is a testament to the courage of our students and the dedication of our staff,” said Dr. Christopher Reber, president of HCCC, in a statement. “We believe that caring for our community’s mental health is just as important as academic success. This is a commitment, not a campaign.”

Students on campus echoed that. “I walked through the backpacks and I just stopped,” said Jasmine Torres, a nursing major from Union City. “Then I talked to a counselor for the first time. I didn’t know I needed it. But I did.”

Not everyone is convinced. Some community members have worried that such exhibits, while powerful, could be triggering for students who’ve lost someone. But HCCC officials say they intentionally built in support stations and counselors at the event to make sure nobody walked through it alone.

What comes next

HCCC plans to bring “Send Silence Packing®” back next spring, and the college is now working on a permanent mental health lounge on the Journal Square campus. Students can also expect more Active Minds events this fall, including peer-led support groups and a town hall on the mental health pressures facing community college students.

For residents who want to get involved, the college’s Mental Health Counseling & Wellness Office is open to the public for referrals, and Active Minds welcomes community members at its meetings. Check the college’s website for dates — or just ask a student. They’ll know.

That’s the thing about a moment like this. It doesn’t solve everything. But it opens a door. And for a community that sometimes forgets to breathe, that’s a start.