WHO WE ARE
This organization is rooted on the premises that we will overcome suicide through faith, hope, love, and education. Joseph Newberry was 18 years old when he decided to take his life. His loss impacted many people in many ways. Although Joe was talented athletically, artistically, and socially, he still struggled with internal emotions that challenged him to question his own existence. As parents, coaches, teachers, pastors, and leaders, it is imperative that we recognize the warning signs of depression and suicide. Be the eyes, ears, and voice that changes a life!
Congratulations to this month’s Hats Off To Heroes Winner in Topeka, HEARTS (Helping Empower Adolescents Reject Thoughts of Suicide). This organization is rooted on the premises that we will overcome suicide through faith, hope, love and education.
Our Story
Alicia Newberry, the founder of HEARTS, started this organization after realizing the detrimental impact suicide had and continued to have on her family. Suicide tore her family apart in numerous ways, and Left them with feelings of guilt, agony, despair, pain, and confusion. By creating this organization, they will be able to inform adolescents why these feelings occur, as well as provide them with available resources to combat them. She wants adolescents to feel comfortable exposing these vulnerable feelings to decrease the incidences of suicide while utilizing faith as a catalyst for growth and hope.
