GREENFIELD — In a dream, Greenfield resident Danielle Baudrand envisioned that her niece, Octavia, who struggles with opioid addiction, was showered with love.
When she woke up, she realized she might not be able to make this happen for her own family members, as they live in New Mexico, but she decided she could make the dream a reality for her neighbors in Greenfield.
Baudrand set to work on an outdoor art installation where she collected paper hearts from across Franklin County and beyond that feature supportive messages written to people who suffer from addiction. She laminated the hearts and hung them around Energy Park using crocheted yarn.
“So many people who come through need love and support,” Baudrand said. “This is a great way to bring the community together.”
As paper hearts continue to be sent to her, Baudrand hangs more of them up. This project is expected to continue through September, and she said the city has been supportive of her efforts. As of Wednesday, she said there are about 500 hearts hanging around Energy Park with messages for people in recovery and those who have lost their lives due to overdose.
Baudrand explained she chose Energy Park for the location because she knows there are people “struggling with some type of addiction there who need love.” She hopes her project can support people and families affected by opioids across Greenfield.
“I think this has been a great project,” Baudrand said, “not only for raising awareness, but also for healing as a community.”
The cause is close to Baudrand’s heart, both because she is affected by opioid addiction in her own family and because she works at Greenfield’s Health Care Resource Center as a grant coordinator. The center, at 50 Miles St., offers a methadone clinic to treat opioid use disorder. Two other counselors, Jody Pelletier and Bethany Zera, also helped crochet the yarn for hanging the hearts.
This is not the first art installation Baudrand has put together, either. She previously made large installations raising awareness about climate change. She has combined her art skills with a personal cause for this most recent project.
She reached out to organizations across Franklin County seeking contributions of paper hearts. So far, Learn2Cope, Tapestry, The RECOVER Project, the Franklin County Jail and House of Correction, the Greenfield Fire Department, Behavioral Health Network, Bridge Primary and Green Fields Market have all contributed hearts. Hearts have even been mailed from as far as Newburyport and Torrington, Connecticut.
“I encourage people from the public to come down and take a moment to check it out,” Baudrand said.
Those who are interested in contributing paper hearts can mail them to Danielle Baudrand, c/o Health Care Resource Center, 50 Miles St., Greenfield, MA 01301.
Bella Levavi can be reached at 413-930-4579 or blevavi@recorder.com.