Paper hearts help ease young minds in Ferguson

FERGUSON, Mo. -- From across the country and around the world, paper hearts have poured into Ferguson-area schools since the shooting death of Michael Brown in August.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that the "Hearts for Ferguson" campaign was started by Susie McGaughey. Recently, she clutched a large envelope as she sat in a circle of fifth-graders, delivering the latest batch of love.

McGaughey's visit to Cool Valley Elementary School was a milestone in the "Hearts for Ferguson" campaign. McGaughey works for Great Circle, an agency providing support to the Ferguson-Florissant School District through counseling for children.

The total number of hearts generated has topped 3,000. Her goal is more than 11,000, which would be one for every elementary student in the district.

McGaughey first came up with the idea at the school on Great Circle's campus in Webster Groves, a well-to-do community several miles away. Even there, children were struggling with their emotions and fears about the looting and violence in Ferguson.

So McGaughey had them make hearts, color them and write messages of hope for the children in Ferguson.

The idea spread when McGaughey started a Facebook page for the campaign. Hearts have arrived from public and Catholic schools, from inner-city charter schools, and from as far away as Savannah, Georgia, and Australia.

"Today, you are receiving a heart, a heart lovingly made for you by someone you don't even know. Many of them came from students just like you," McGaughey told the children at Cool Valley Elementary.

A heart with two hands -- one white and one black -- resonated with fifth-grader April Jennings.

"We can join together and love each other," she said.

Art has provided a form of therapy for adults, too, since Brown, who was 18 and black, was killed by white Ferguson officer Darren Wilson on Aug. 9. A grand jury ruling announced Nov. 24 cleared the officer of any wrongdoing, setting off a second wave of strong protests.

Businesses in Ferguson and elsewhere in the region boarded up windows with plywood for protection. The Missouri Art Therapy Association worked with the Ferguson Youth Initiative and other artists to create colorful paintings on the plywood.

School counselors have seen reactions from children after months of unrest. Some talk about nightmares and other problems sleeping. They worry that people are coming to burn down their homes.

"I think they feel like the world is turning on them," McGaughey said. "They need this kind of show and support and that people are caring for them."

Information from: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, http://www.stltoday.com