Hearts reaching out
Group makes Peyton Heart Project hearts to raise awareness of suicide, end mental health stigma
The more than 700 handmade crocheted yarn hearts for the Peyton Heart Project a group of local residents recently assembled have nearly all been distributed.
“The mission is just for somebody to find it, take it, share it,” said Patti Dille, who organized the local group. “It’s really about suicide and bullying and the stigma surrounding mental health.”
“We hope the hearts cause people to stop for a moment and reflect on a young life lost to suicide, on bullying and on the fact that everyone’s life matters,” according to information on
thepeytonheartproject.org. “We want to leave people with a feeling that there is still good out there in the world and we would like to inspire others to join us on this mission of kindness.”
The hearts, which also have tags with short, uplifting messages, are left in public places worldwide, Dille said.
People who find the hearts are asked to email a photo of it to Peyton Heart Project at YouAreTrulyBeautiful@yahoo.com and on social media with the hashtag #PeytonHeartProject.
After that, the finder can pass the heart on or keep it, Dille said.
Some of her favorite quotes on the tags are “Always choose kindness,” “Believe in yourself,” Your journey will be worth it,” Your life matters,” “The world needs you” and “Every day is a second chance,” Dille said.
“Maybe somebody finds it and they’re feeling really crappy one day and then they see that and maybe it makes them smile and feel better,” she said. “That’s what I’m kinda hoping will happen.”
Peyton Hearts are named for Peyton James, a 13-yearold who committed suicide in 2014 after years of being bullied, the organization’s webpage says.
Dille’s son, Matt, was not bullied, but he, too, committed suicide, she said. He was 17 and a senior at Souderton Area High School when he died in September of 2014.
Although no date has been set yet for when the group will assemble its second batch of hearts, she’s planning to give some of
the hearts to Matt’s classmates who are now in college and for them to take the hearts back to their campus or community for others to find, Dille said.
As was done the first time June 25, the hearts will be assembled at the Indian Valley Public Library, she said. Most of the participants will probably be people who were there for the first batch, she said, but other individuals or church youth groups are also welcome to help out.
When they finished that day, they were surprised to see they had a total of 703 hearts, she said. The next batch could be even more, she said.
Some of the first batch were given to people going on vacation to distribute, while others were left in Lansdale, Souderton and Telford, she said.
“I put them at parks so kids will see them,” Dille said.
Other places at which the hearts were left include grocery stores, she said.
Although the ones made locally are being crocheted, it’s not necessary to know how to crochet to make the hearts, Dille said. The Peyton
Heart Project’s website says the hearts can also be made in other ways, including wrapping yarn around cardboard.
“Suicide is now the number two cause of death for 15to 24-year-olds, and I don’t think people realize that,” Dille said.
She said she knows a lot about suicide and doesn’t have a problem talking about it, but part of the problem is that many people can’t talk about suicide.
“There’s such a taboo around it that people don’t want to speak about it and you have so many kids now and so many adults that suffer from anxiety and depression and they don’t feel comfortable talking and getting the help that they need,” Dille said. “We need to help people to talk about it.”
Dille, who is part of the Montgomery County Suicide Prevention Task Force, said she’s hoping to distribute more of the hearts during Suicide Prevention Awareness Week in September.
“Hopefully people will find them and it’ll help them and they’ll spread the message,” she said.