On Saturday, October 8th, one of our long held dreams for The Window of Kindness came true! Thanks to the collaborative team at Color Speaks, funding from Gensler Architects and our wonderful volunteers, The Window of Kindness now has a mural! A special element of this project is that the Color Speaks team, Ryan and Sara, have created a model that gives communities the opportunity to design and create a mural together. This collaboration was incredibly important so our visitors continue to have a space that welcomes them, where they feel safe and have a sense of ownership and connection. This whole project exemplified exactly that. We hear often that our clients have very limited opportunities to be a part of decision making processes, so we were excited to partner with a company that took the time to involve our full community.
Ryan Shared, “I think what was really cool about this process, is that while it was designed, it was designed in collaboration with your clients, and so there was crowdsourcing in terms of what kind of subjects we could think about, what kind of art we could think about that would be well received and would be calming and create a space where people would want to be. I think that was the best part of it. And so the design was in community with your clients. And so I think that's really what drove a lot of our thinking.”
Sara added, “Yeah, I mean, that made it really special because before we had made a few concepts that we had thought like maybe this will resonate, and just concepts based on our initial conversations with Karina and Jennifer, but then they actually printed them and posted them and just started having conversations with your clients about what they like and what they wanted to see. One of the clients moved me, made me cry. They said something along the lines of, ‘We're surrounded by concrete and dirt all the time and we live in this beautiful city and we don't actually get to experience the nature of it.’ So from that point, we've pivoted to something that felt more like landscape…more literal nature…an urban oasis.”
There were so many beautiful moments of connection during the day. The sun was shining, there were fresh doughnuts and tons of donated pizza, for visitors and volunteers, and music which set a relaxing and also energizing tone. When our first shift of volunteers left, the speaker and the music went with them. As our visitors started to arrive in the afternoon for the Window of Kindness one of our regular visitors noted the lack of music. He then generously offered his speaker and became the DJ for the rest of the afternoon. This led to great conversations over everyone’s universal love of music and mutually loved songs and artists.
Throughout the event, we were reflecting on everyone who came to participate and how special it felt to be a part of something that’s dedicated to love, compassion, and belonging. Each individual, parents and their kiddos, clients and pets, staff and volunteers, came together to make this mural-magic happen. How beautiful our connection and relationships can be when we come together with open hearts! Whether housed or unhoused, we all have the opportunity to make a difference in our communities when working alongside each other, and that is the whole mission of Facing Homelessness.
We are so grateful to everyone who made the mural and the event possible; Our clients, volunteers, the Color Speaks Team, Gensler Architects and staff at Facing Homelessness. All of our programs are volunteer powered, and we are constantly reminded how deeply we are rooted in the community walking alongside us.
University District | Karina, Jennifer, Clàudia
A QUIET THOUGHT - If you're moved by the goodness of this community, please visit http://www.facinghomelessness.org/
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