With finals approaching, organizations are holding events to raise awareness about suicide and mental health this week with free wristbands, movie showings and counseling workshops.

Sponsored by Student-to-Student Peer Counseling, Suicide Awareness Week is meant to educate students about the resources available to them if they are experiencing mental health issues, said Jonathan Lesser, a coordinator for the counseling group.

"We're just trying to raise awareness about the prevalence of suicide and depression around college campuses," he said.

There are about three suicides annually at UC Berkeley, according to Susan Bell, assistant director of Counseling and Psychological Services. Eleven suicides took place in the UC system last year.

Though the activities follow the suicide of a student last week, Lesser said his organization planned them before the tragedy occurred. He added that the recent suicide illustrates the importance of the awareness week for students.

"If we could have planned this event any week of the year, it's possible the same event could have happened," Lesser said. "It wasn't designed after that, but it's still relevant."

One of the activities for the week was a free screening of "The Bridge," a film documenting the suicide attempts of those who jumped off the Golden Gate Bridge.

Sophomore Kate Sackett, who attended the movie screening, said the film showed her how isolated those with mental issues may feel.

"It's still sinking in," Sackett said. "It's a lot to process."

While not directly involved with this week's events, the Tang Center has also worked to deal with mental health issues this year by attempting to de-stigmatize counseling. These efforts have included initiating more than 160 mental health programs each year, including the recent "Be Well to Do Well" campaign that educates the campus about mental stress, Bell said.

She added that the center also receives a federal grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration to perform suicide prevention outreach to Asian-Pacific Islander students.

"Much of our prevention work focuses on helping students access services before it reaches the point of their feeling suicidal or in crisis," she said in an e-mail.

According to the UC Student Mental Health Oversight Committee, there has been a 70 percent increase in the number of students seeking counseling services in the UC system since 2000.

In light of the recent suicide, Bell said that Counseling and Psychological Services contacted faculty and students who were close to the student to offer grief counseling last week.

"The best way to cope with these reactions is to give oneself time, to talk to others, to focus on self-care ... and to remember that each person experiences things differently," Bell said.

Tags: STUDENT-TO-STUDENT COUNSELORS, TANG CENTER, SUICIDE