Letters of Love is a project nurtured by a growing and caring community of pen pals. The biggest thing we do here at Letters of Love is to allow people to connect with one another and give them the opportunity to become pen pals. Since the very first day, lasting friendships have been forming. Countless letters have been written between all of the members of the community.

The mission of Letters of Love is to reach out to each other by writing as many letters as possible. We believe that friendship, support, love and hope are important–especially when struggling with depression, self-injury and addiction.

It takes five minutes to write a letter. Five minutes to brighten someone’s day. Imagine the smile on someone’s face when they open up the mailbox and see your letter waiting for them. Imagine how good it feels to have someone to talk to–about anything–without biases or judgments against you. The anticipation of receiving a letter in the mail can give us something to do other than just feel sad.

We are also committed to spreading awareness of depression, self-injury and addiction, and providing help resources and information on these often controversial and very misunderstood topics. Further, we are committed to getting kindness and respect toward people who self-injure.

Letters of Love is not a 24-hour help line. We are here together for support, love and friendship. If you or someone you know needs help, please call 2-1-1 or your local help hotline. To view a list of help hotlines, please visit the Suicide Hotlines website.

The Letters of Love project started in February 2008 on Valentine’s Day.

Read our official mission statement for more information.

About Elizabeth K. Barone, founder and director of Letters of Love

Elizabeth Kaylene has struggled with depression for most of her life. Inspired by the nonprofit To Write Love On Her Arms, Elizabeth wanted to reach out to others who struggle with depression. While browsing online communities in support of TWLOHA, Elizabeth read a suggestion by someone that their community could exchange letters with each other and Letters of Love was born.

Elizabeth believes that it is important to talk about our experiences and feelings, and she best expresses herself with the written word. She started Scars Can Speak as a way for others to share their stories and updates the blog regularly with her own experiences. Elizabeth believes in honesty and sharing her story with nothing held back, no matter how hard it is to be honest about the things she has gone through.

Elizabeth is a full-time web designer and developer. She loves to write stories and novels that seldom get finished, and music is her favorite antidepressant. She is currently working on getting her teaching certificate and plans to continue to manage Letters of Love and Scars Can Speak for as long as necessary.