Though it may be a little-known fact, Nevada is a haven for artists. Even Fallon has a number of highly talented artists in residence. And now, the Churchill Community Coalition is helping to grow more. However, their goal goes far beyond paint and a brush.
While the project may seem like just a mural at first glance, it is much more. The Youth Working Committee (YWC), formed by the Board of Health, has set out to address youth suicide and mental health wellness in Churchill County. According to Kadie Zeller, Coalition Outreach Coordinator, representatives from the Churchill Community Coalition Students Taking On Prevention (CCC STOP) conducted mental health research amongst their peers. “Kids are depressed and using substances,” said Zeller, “and we need to understand why.” The results were eye-opening and showed that the majority of the youth surveyed experienced a variety of mental health problems and illnesses. They reported a lack of knowledge about mental health wellness, healthy coping skills, and available resources. Additionally, they feel that adults in the community do not care about their mental health.
In response, the YWC and the CCC STOP Team created a multi-media campaign that “creates visibility, reduces stigma, and increases conversation about mental health,” according to Zeller. The project “engages and educates youth and adults, addresses the root causes of substance use, provides information about resources and support available to students and families, provides healthy coping tools and skills, engages peer-to-peer education, and revitalizes community spaces.”
Thus was born the Mental Health Wellness Mural Campaign. The goal is to “promote a sense of identity, belonging, attachment, welcoming, and openness, strengthen community identification to place and create a sense of destination.
Zeller hopes to make the project ongoing throughout the community. One of the first projects is a permanent youth mural to be painted in the Churchill County Juvenile Probation Office (JPO). Ideally, the mural project will encourage community participation and civic engagement. “Hopefully we will have murals all through town,” said Zeller, “The goal is to have buildings where everyone can come paint.” These murals have the potential to help revitalize community buildings and offices while creating conversation and support around mental health wellness.
Since JPO is to be the home of the first mural, they have done all the design work with the drawing to begin this week. JPO wanted to align the mural with the concepts they strive to instill in the youth under their care. Some of these include values taught in the Why Try and Rize Above programs designed to help motivate youth and transform hopelessness into resilience.
Local youth and adults will help paint the mural, including the Artist in Recovery group from New Frontier. The Coalition, YWC, and the CCC STOP Team encourage local young people to join in and help paint the mural. The JPO building is open 24/7, and anyone entering will see the mural and know that Fallon cares not only about its youth but their mental health wellness.
Following the first permanent mural project, more murals are going up at six area schools. The Coalition is on the lookout for community partnerships that can help provide building wall spaces and supplies for the many projects. Mobile murals are also planned. Zeller explained that these would be painted on plywood or vinyl that can be displayed at various locations, including community-wide reunions, during summer concerts at the park, Cantaloupe Festival, Christmas Tree Lighting, and similar events.
Zeller also hopes that local organizations will join in and create their own murals for the project or participate in larger community mural projects, stating, “We want spaces that everyone can help create and be part of and be proud of.”
If you would like to contribute to the program or join in the fun, contact Kadie Zeller at the Churchill Community Coalition.
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