Bringing Color to a Healing Space with Volunteers of America

This fall I had the privilege of creating two murals for Volunteers of America Southeast Louisiana at their new family focused addiction recovery center on Canal Street. The program is designed for mothers and pregnant women who are working toward recovery while still caring for their children. It is a model that is surprisingly rare. Only a very small percentage of residential treatment programs in the United States allow mothers to stay with their kids. Knowing that made this project feel especially meaningful to me.

My mural is in the upstairs community space close to the residential rooms. This area will eventually become a gathering spot for the families who live there. It will hold a children’s play area as well as a comfortable living room setting. When I first walked the space I could feel how intentional every part of it was. The design team wanted the building to feel calm and welcoming from the moment you walk in. My hope was to carry that feeling onto the walls and create something gentle and steadily uplifting.

Painting it was a steady, peaceful kind of work. Throughout the week I watched staff move through the building as they prepared for the opening. Everyone brought their own sense of care to the project. I kept thinking about the women who will live there and the small moments they will have with their children. Some days will feel hopeful. Some will feel heavy. A single room may hold all of that. I wanted the mural to meet them softly, without demanding attention, and to offer something warm and grounding.

As the layers built up the mural started to take on its own life. Large scale painting like this always asks for a mix of planning and instinct. Enough structure to respect the function of the room but enough looseness for the work to breathe. By the final day the transformation felt complete. The blank walls had movement, color, and a new sense of presence.

I am proud to have contributed to a place that will offer real support to families in New Orleans. Art cannot solve everything, but it can shape how a space feels. It can offer a moment of calm or a small reminder of beauty. That is what I hope this mural brings to the women and children who will spend time there — a quiet reminder that they deserve spaces filled with care.