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SOS Berks has teamed up with Albright College and Berks Community Murals to create a series of recovery-themed murals in the Reading area. The murals will expand on our stigma reduction campaign theme “Addiction Doesn’t Define Anyone,” building on the recovery stories of individuals featured in those videos.
Under the direction of Berks Community Murals Coordinator Mike Miller, we worked with two Berks County artists to design murals for the two locations below.
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Located on a wall measuring about 1500 square feet, adjacent to a popular Hispanic market, this mural design is being created by artist Leslie Ramos. It is based on the recovery story of Jose Lugo, who recalled for her his life growing up in Puerto Rico, his struggles with substance use disorder, and the role his family and childhood memories played in helping him overcome those struggles. (See mock up below). See Jose’s story here.
Located on a building owned by Albright College in an area that is highly visible to the traffic, this mural design is being created by Reading artist Marian Njai. It is based on the recovery story of Yvonne Stroman, who discussed the many joys of life in recovery, which includes bicycling, journaling, helping others in recovery and mentoring young people. (See mockup below.)
Watch Yvonne’s story here.
Painting the murals is a collaborative process involving numerous groups and community members. Our murals will be painted in panels on parachute cloth and later adhered to the buildings. Painting sessions are held at Albright College’s Total Learning Experience Art Studio located on Rockland St. Visit the Berks Community Murals website to learn more about the process of painting and installing murals.
Painting sessions on the first mural began in mid-February and will be on-going through April. Please fill out the form below to receive email notifications of upcoming community painting dates.
