As a resource for emotional expression and healing, a group of local community members promoted mental health awareness by painting a mural on the 34th Street Wall.
In honor of May being Mental Health Awareness month, AnARTists, an organization comprised of artistic individuals in Gainesville, painted a four-wall art display between Southwest Second Avenue and Radio Road in order to address the topic of mental health.
The mural, which is about 60 feet long, was painted by about 15 members of AnARTists on May 7.
Theresa Foster, a leader of AnARTists, said she hopes the mural portrays the message that people with mental health issues are no different than anyone else.
“It’s not just about awareness,” Foster said. “We are inviting people to take care of themselves.”
On the first wall, alongside puzzle pieces and a yin and yang symbol, “Stop The Stigma” was written in bright green letters. Foster said this was written because some people feel ashamed to discuss their mental health problems, which is an issue that must be addressed within the community.
Dr. Sandy Levy, a local psychologist, said based on a recent study, Florida ranks 51 out of 52 jurisdictions in lack of funding for state mental health programs.
Levy said that because the group is not a certified nonprofit, finding funding is difficult. However, she said the group is hoping to eventually become a nonprofit with the help of other local organizations such as the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) of Gainesville.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott, Rep. Ted Yoho and Sen. Keith Perry have the power to change that, Levy said, which is in part why AnARTists members included the politicians’ names on the mural’s fourth wall.
AnARTists, which meets the last Tuesday of every month at the Helping Hands Clinic, located at 509 NE First St., exists to break that stigma and reinforce that it’s OK to talk about mental health.
Foster said the group, although not intended to be therapy, provides workshops that stimulate mental health conversation and create opportunities to elaborate one’s artistic expression, especially through visual art. One of the goals of the mural was to convey that purpose, Foster said.
“My goal of being part of AnARTists is to build a community that uses art for healing and self-care,” Foster said. “This is really precious, because it’s something I didn’t have when I desperately needed it.”
Maggie Hannon, an AnARTists leader and a recreational therapist for inpatient psychiatry at UF Health Shands Hospital, said although AnARTists has already made much progress in the community, the group is always seeking resources to provide its members a variation of outlets for healing.
“I am really proud of Gainesville. They provide an eight-hour first aid course for people to feel more comfortable dealing with mental illness,” she said. “However, there is still much more that needs to be done.”
The mural painted on the 34th Street Wall in honor of Mental Health Awareness Month by local group AnARTists signifies the organization’s belief that “Art Heals.” One of the organization’s goals is to stop the stigma behind mental illness.
