A collaborative effort between the Albany Medical College service learning program Empowering Arts, IPH, Family Promise of the Capital Region, Albany Center Gallery and artist Jade Warrick culminates in an event where community members are celebrated and encouraged to share their stories through words of affirmation on a movable mural.

The Shared Connections project was born out of a goal to spread awareness by interviewing individuals experiencing homelessness, creating a visual representation of their stories, and painting this design on a movable mural to be displayed at various locations around Albany. “It's simply about empowerment, validation and recognition that anyone’s journey through life is never linear,” said Andrew Kwok, an Empowering Arts leader who came up with this idea for his summer of service project. Homelessness is a growing issue in the United States, and the number of people experiencing homelessness in Albany, NY has reached a staggering 2,791 during 2019-2020. Behind these numbers are individual stories of homelessness, revolving around themes of hope, family, loss, poverty, and mindfulness that are not well known or discussed in the community.

Each person has their unique story to share and this mural was able to amplify the voices of those experiencing homelessness. We hope that the collaboration between the healthcare community at Albany Med, the Albany art community, and the community organizations that provide services to those experiencing homelessness will create space for empowerment and awareness.

TrashKiD Art

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