PeaceLove

Founded in 2009 by Jeffrey Sparr and Matt Kaplan, PeaceLove was established to do three simple things to make the world a better place; build the first positive symbol for mental illness, create expressive arts programming to help people find peace of mind, and build inclusive spaces where communities could come together to experience story-telling, expressive arts, and cool products that inspire a positive lifestyle.

Today we are a growing movement and community of mental health advocates, artists, friends, families, students, teachers, corporations, and community leaders who are invested in conversations of acceptance, understanding and hope.

The PeaceLove Story

Longboat Key, Florida, March 2009

It should have been like a pleasant dream, sitting there on the beach at beautiful Longboat Key, looking out at the sea and white sands as my 9-year old daughter did cartwheels to a setting sun. But a moment every father treasures was being robbed from me—my mind was lost in mental anguish that was sucking the life out of me.

My name is Jeffrey Sparr. I am a father, husband, businessman, and artist who has also suffered for 25 years from mental illness. But in other ways, I’m just a regular guy who has a story to tell that I hope can be an inspiration and proof that you can get better and that there truly is a better tomorrow for us all.

It's impossible to really convey what it is like having obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), but I sometimes explain that it is like being at the airport with your 2-year old daughter and turning your back for a second to grab your bag and turning around to discover that your daughter is gone. Now imagine feeling that level of anxiety continually and about things not nearly as critical as a missing child.

One of the Lucky Ones

But it wasn't always like this. In 1986 it all looked so perfect: I was 23 and an ex-collegiate athlete with a bright business future ahead. The world was seemingly at my feet. Except that my brain and life were being taken over by completely irrational thoughts and behaviors that I was powerless to fight and that consumed my life with anxiety. And to top it off, I had a disorder that was so invisible and misunderstood that even those closest to me didn’t really believe I had something that serious.

Fortunately, I was one of the lucky ones; I got a proper diagnosis of OCD, and help in the form of medication and treatment. This, along with a lot of love and support, has allowed me to enjoy a full life with a beautiful wife, three incredible children, and a successful textiles business. But even after treatment, the OCD and anxiety were still there, so I handled it as best I possibly could, though always with the hope and a prayer that I might find some miraculous way to get better.

One day I decided on a whim coming home from work that I would buy some art supplies and try my hand at painting. To my amazement, not only did I like it but it provided me a peace of mind and sense of control that my illness deprived me of. Most unexpectedly, my self-taught, nontraditional style, highlighted by faceless characters (don’t tell anyone I can’t draw a face), bold movements, and thought-provoking titles connected with people on an emotional level and surprisingly created a loyal following of people collecting my work.

My cousin Matthew Kaplan (PeaceLove Co-founder) and I thought that if painting made me feel better, maybe it could help others, so we did the only logical thing - we bought some supplies, packed up a bag and headed out to my hospital, Butler Hospital, one of the leading psychiatrist facilities in the world. We showed up on the children's intensive treatment unit without a clue, but with the desire and vision to help people like me find peace of mind through art. I cried in the parking lot after class because I knew we had something that was very special. With the success and impact of the program, which we named "Paint4Peace," at Boys and Girls Clubs, hospitals, teen help centers, grade schools, and rest homes—not to mention corporate offices—my gut told me there was something more and I was determined to find it.

A Lightening Bolt

For many years I have unrealistically dreamed, and sometimes prayed, for a lightning bolt to hit me and cure my illness, and when it came to that 'something more,' it was almost just that. It was 2009 and the Discovery Health Channel had done a documentary that featured my story, for which we gave them complete access to my life and family for two days. While watching the playback of the documentary, I got hit by the lightning bolt that led to the creation of PeaceLove. My 'something more' would be to create a positive symbol of hope and acceptance for mental health. Every cause has their “ribbon,” but tens of millions of people like me and their friends and families had nothing to rally and celebrate behind.

I knew it had to be, for lack of a better word, cool, as people would need to wear it, share it, and experience it. No one is going to walk out of a psychiatric hospital with a t-shirt that says, “I'm mentally ill,” but I knew they would with a cool symbol with no stigma attached. Years ago I had created an image that had deep personal meaning for me—the simple combination of the peace symbol and a heart, signifying peace in your mind and love in your heart. I called it "PeaceLove."

Matt and I then set out to share this PeaceLove message with those who struggle with mental illness through a symbol and program of hope and understanding.