28/09/2024
💓Free hugs funnel hope during Su***de Prevention Month 💓
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PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WYMT) - With the seasons changing and the weather leaving many people feeling gloomy, one Pike County woman is hoping to provide love and light through the darkness.
Destiny Runyon created a personal mission to spread hope by sharing hugs, setting up outside of Pikeville Walmart during Su***de Prevention Month to spread awareness and show people they are not alone.
Runyon said she is no stranger to sadness and wanted to find a way to be a smile in someone’s corner. So she joined with her kids and her friend Johnny Bryant, holding up signs of encouragement and hugging anyone who needed a supportive squeeze.
“You never know whenever there’s people just like us out there, walking around and nobody knows what’s going on,” she said. “And the moment they get a hug, they just kind of lose it all. And sometimes it’s something as little as that.”
Once the idea came to Runyon, she shared the plan on social media, asking others to join in the mission. Bryant joined her, saying he has his own reasons for wanting to remind people there is hope.
”I wish that I would’ve had someone to give me a hug on some of my darkest times,” he said. “I am actually a su***de attempt survivor. Five times.”
He said he now sees the hope and light life can offer and sometimes that can be portrayed through a simple hug.
The duo said it was shocking to see how many people responded positively to the hugs, with some stopping to share their own stories through tears.
