How does our Support Wall work?
If you’ve been keeping up with our presence at festivals and events, you’ve seen our Support Wall: the physical manifestation of what HeartSupport has always done in online spaces. If you’re familiar with HeartSupport’s history, you might know that the wall has evolved through almost a decade of iterations designed to make it easier to take on the road.
The first Support Wall went out on Warped Tour 2018, and it weighed 800 pounds and took time and manpower to set up. These days, the Support Wall is an inflatable piece that can be plugged in, inflated, and in use in seven seconds.
Our Support Wall inflating
To make this new version, HeartSupport partnered with Brand Asset Partners. Together, we’ve created a ten-foot by ten-foot version for festivals and a seven-foot by seven-foot version. Both can be plugged in, inflated, then deflated and packed down into a single tub.
But far more important than the engineering is the purpose. The Support Wall has a simple layout designed to make it as easy as possible for those who are struggling to share their experiences, and for their peers to respond in real time.
The Support Wall features a grid of white boxes that can be written on with erasable markers. The top row is reserved for individuals to share what they’re struggling with, space for confessional vulnerability. Once they’ve written the truth of their experience, they can walk away. That’s where the magic happens.
Other visitors to the HeartSupport booth can write their responses on the Support Wall in the column underneath each confession. They can offer solidarity, words of support, and encouragement to keep going. Often, people who stop by the Wall see part of their own stories in the words of those who have opened up. This might make them feel less alone even as they’re encouraging someone else.
The music fans who first wrote their stories on the wall can come back later and see their column filled with encouragement from other fans.
Here are some direct quotes from some fans who have been on the receiving end of the Support Wall’s encouragement after courageously opening up.
“I’ve had a lot of encouraging things that I’m going to carry with me. The willingness that people showed by taking the time to write this stuff to me really means a lot.”
“To know that there are so many people out there who have the same situations, and there are so many people who have the same amount of love for people like me. It just makes me feel better to know that I can go and do what I need to do to get the help that I need. It’s a big relief. And it is an eye-opener to know that people are behind me.”
“I was told to come back to the wall. I didn’t expect to see paragraphs! The one that stood out the most to me was telling me to enjoy my time and to be creative and express myself because everyone’s different. I felt a lot of love. It felt like an individual hug from everybody.”
“After putting myself on the wall and being a part of this experience, it definitely reinforces the belief that I want to be more open about this type of thing and putting myself out there because it is so rewarding to have that support.”
The mobility and ease of set-up offered by the inflatable Support Wall are making these stories possible. When HeartSupport arrives on a festival site, they’re ready to heal the scene within seven seconds.
Right now, the large-sized Support Wall is making an appearance at festivals across the country, with a smaller one touring with Citizen Soldier. If you see the HeartSupport Support Wall, be sure to stop by and make your mark!
