Erin Gillingham is covered in To Write Love On Her Arms merchandise.

The words adorn the majority of her navy blue t-shirt, are etched into her thick rubber bracelet and tattooed in cursive on her left wrist.

She is wearing just one of the 12 To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) shirts that she owns. She also owns two bracelets, a tote bag, a poster and numerous amounts of info cards that she totes everywhere she goes. If Gillingham is anything, she is passionate about the non-profit organization that brings awareness to depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide.

The 21-year-old has been a supporter of TWLOHA since her junior year in high school, but didn’t start getting heavily involved with group until college. In 2009 she took her spring break from Vincennes University to attend a conference in Cocoa Beach, Fla.

 “It was the first time I had ever heard open conversation about highly stigmatized subjects like depression, self-hurt, anxiety and suicide,” Gillingham said.

During the trip she learned about TWLOHA’s internship, decided to apply to it and got accepted into the 2010 internship program in Cocoa Beach.

Without hesitation, she took a semester off of college and drove 900 miles alone to live in a house with six other interns. For six months she ate, breathed and lived TWLOHA.

Since the internship, she has dedicated her life to raising awareness to the constantly expanding organization. She started the TWLOHA chapter at USI, and travels often to participate in Midwest events hosted by TWLOHA.

Gillingham has dealt with almost every aspect the organization confronts. She grew up struggling with depression and anxiety which lead to self-injury and lost both an aunt and best friend to suicide.

“I grew up with suicide as part of my language and saw how the loss of my aunt affected my family,” she said. “I just want to help people who also deal with similar situations and let them know they don’t have to do it alone.”