Seton Hall hosts New Jersey's first Higher Education Mental Health Summit

NEW YORK - Hundreds of educators gathered at Seton Hall University on Wednesday for New Jersey's first mental health summit, aimed at solving the mental health crisis among young people.

"I’m sick and tired of the pain and the hurt. I do this for Chester, Chris, and Kurt," rapped "DMC" of RunDMC Darryl McDaniels, referencing Chester Bennington of Linkin Park, Chris Cornell of Sound Garden and Kurt Cobain of Nirvana— all artists whose lives were cut short by suicide and addiction. 

The organizers behind the Higher Education Mental Health Summit say suicidal ideation is at an all-time high among young people. They reason that many students believe they’re alone and have nowhere to turn. 

That's how McDaniels says he felt until he learned about therapy at the age of 35.

"I think young people need to know this," McDaniels said. "It is perfectly fine. It is the strongest, most powerful thing you can do when you open up and admit and confess I’m weak, scared, and afraid."

The summit's goal is to figure out the best strategies to reach kids and drive this message home. 

The grassroots event is made up of 500 people from 44 colleges and universities who are desperate to help young people who are hurting.

"We had no idea it could get this large, but we hit on some things that really matter on all of our campuses," said Karen Van Norman, of Seton Hall University.