The work has begun on this exciting opportunity to work with the homeless community in Toledo. I am proud to have initiated this grant process have such wonderful partners as collaborators, A Renewed Mind and the Toledo Streets Newspaper. This is a year- long project and is just getting underway.
We have a name for the project, Pieces to Peace and a logo. I have project managers in place from The Toledo Streets Newspaper and their hard-working vendors.
Now we are working on what the visual message will be and where our mural or sculpture will be installed in downtown Toledo.
Here is a press release from the start of the project. Look for much more to come soon on this opportunity to use art to heal our homeless community.
TOLEDO, OHIO, AUGUST 11, 2017 –The Board of Trustees of the Toledo Community Foundation has approved a grant from The David C. and Lura M. Lovell Foundation Fund to A Renewed Mind in the amount of $30,800.00. These Funds will be used to support the Mosaic Art Project which utilizes art as a vehicle to reconnect chronically unhoused people living with mental illness, back into the community.
The David C. and Lura M. Lovell Foundation Fund envisions communities where mental health care is both barrier-and stigma-free as part of a broader approach to Integrative Health and Wellness. The Lovell Fund prioritizes programs that aim to reduce the stigma around living with and seeking services for a mental health issue. Grants are provided for programming, capacity building and, in limited cases, general operations.
This grant will be used to create a mosaic art installation under the coordination of Mosaic Artist, Gail Christofferson. A Renewed Mind staff and Toledo Streets Newspaper vendors will collaborate on the project. The project focuses on the use of Mosaic art to engage the homeless population and provide needed access to mental health care, healing and enhanced continuity of care within the Toledo Community. Matthew D. Rizzo, CEO of A Renewed Mind, says that “this project will provide a sense of pride for the participants, linkage to community resources, as well as an opportunity to create public awareness of the impact of homelessness and mental illness.”
The Toledo Community Foundation, Inc. is a public charitable organization created by citizens of our community to enrich the quality of life for individuals and families in our area. In existence since 1973, the Foundation has more than 760 funds with assets of approximately $260 million. The Foundation provides philanthropic services for individuals, families, businesses and corporations to meet their charitable giving needs. For more information on the Foundation, visit the organization’s website at www.toledocf.org or follow them on Facebook.
A Renewed Mind is a faith based behavioral health organization, with locations in Lucas, Wood, Hancock, Henry, Fulton, Williams and Defiance counties. For more information on their mental health and addiction services, visit their website at www.arenewedmindservices.org.
