Wisconsin Life

[gentle, hopeful piano] - Angela Fitzgerald: In life, messages are everywhere.

Most are broad, bold, and to the point.

Some messages, however, are buried, obstructed, barely hanging on, waiting for someone to come along and reveal something that's straight from the heart.

– Kathleen Jensen: There's a lot of people hurting in this world, a lot of people hurting.

And this is such a simple, tangible way to let people know they matter, to let them know they're not alone.

And every saying means something different to everyone.

The heart seems to find exactly who needs them.

- Kathleen Jensen knows all too well what living with the wrong message can do.

- Please know that talking about suicide does not cause suicide.

Hopelessness causes suicide.

I have struggled with mental illness.

I have depression, anxiety, suicidality, and PTSD.

And I'm so much better now than I was... even a year ago.

And I did live eight years wanting to kill myself all day, every day.

It's rough.

- It's through her own experience with mental health that the Little Heart Project was born.

Taking little handmade crocheted hearts with notes of encouragement and the national suicide number and placing them in public for people to discover.

– Kathleen Jensen: And I think that's probably also why people are so attracted to it because it's so simple.

It's quick.

It doesn't cost much money.

And anyone can do it anywhere, anywhere.

- In 17 months, over 31,000 hearts have left Kathleen's home.

- It's a lot, it's a lot,yeah.

- And with the help of social media, the Little Heart Project has woven a thread of kindness that extends well beyond just Wisconsin.

- They've been found in Europe, Delhi, India, Central America, Canada.

It's crazy.

[laughs] It's just remarkable.

Just recently, a heart was found at the Iowa State Fair.

And someone posted a picture of that.

And I put it on our social media.

And the next day, I got a message from a woman said, "My brother recently died from suicide.

"A friend of the family just found a heart "at the Iowa State Fair.

"I live in Arizona.

How can I get involved?"

And so, she has her own branch down there where she's making the hearts, tagging them, and distributing them.

- Hundreds of others have contacted Kathleen and asked how they can contribute to the project.

Like elementary school counselor Matt Jacobson, whose Make a Difference Club traded hearts made of yarn for plastic beads.

– Matt Jacobson: Last year, we made over 300 hearts.

And the fifth graders all tied them to every kid's backpack in our school.

And in addition to that, we made about another 50.

So, all elementary staff have them on their backpacks or their purse.

They become stories.

They're not just pieces of plastic we hang on our bags.

They become people's stories.

So, yeah, I get goosebumps as we talk.

- The project's reach has even gotten the attention of mental health professionals.

– Tim Blumentritt: The Little Heart Project is something I've never encountered before.

Early in my social work career, never would have imagined that there would be a tool like this.

More and more in our profession, we are appreciating and involving individuals with a lived experience to be a part of the whole mental health movement.

And Kathleen's project is probably one of the single most impactful projects that I've experienced in my 33 years in helping people.

- I just want to help people.

I want whoever finds that to know you're not alone.

You're not the only one hurting.

And it's okay to not be okay sometimes.

It's-- people aren't happy all the time.

And I think sometimes people think they should be.

And that's not realistic at all.

And if you think you should always be happy and then you're not... well, then your thoughts start to spiral in a really bad way.

- There are good days, and then, there are bad days.

From the outside, you might say Kathleen is trying to string the two together.

- Talking about suicide takes away some of its power.

Truly, truly takes away some of its power.

- One heartfelt message at a time.

- It's such an honor to be a part of this and to have people have it resonating with so many people of all ages, of all ages, because they're hurting people.

It's not in your face.

It's not like the suicide heart.

It's just the Little Heart Project.

And if that's all it is, that's enough... that's enough.