October 18, 2010
ATC Residents Redecorate Common Room
CHICAGO – The white walls in the common room at Safer Foundation’s North Lawndale Adult Transition Center lacked character, so some residents of the facility took it upon themselves to add some color. With little more than paint brushes and an idea, Gregory Pals, Edwin Valentine, and Roland Cook needed just a day and a half to change the atmosphere with a meticulously crafted mural.
Safer Foundation's Dee White-Smith and North Lawndale ATC resident Edwin Valentine pose in front of the newly painted wall at the facility.
“They didn’t have any professional tools,” said Yvonne Johnson, Safer’s Associate Vice President of North Lawndale Adult Transition Center. “This was all done from scratch by hand. They just took a picture of what they wanted and created what you see here.”
Two walls are gray with orange, blue, and purple dots, matching Safer’s branded materials; while a third wall uses the same colors but has a design matching an expressionist painting that had been hanging in the room. Office Administrator Dee White-Smith oversaw the project.
“It was a fun and exciting project,” she said. “It let the clients show their creative side and it incorporated Safer’s new look.”
Yvonne Johnson, Safer's Associate Vice President of North Lawndale ATC, enjoys the newly painted common room.
Johnson also talked about how it’s important to let the clients demonstrate their talents. In the spring, North Lawndale ATC residents performed an original play, “What’s Going On” in the same room.
“It just shows the skill of some of the residents of this facility,” she said. “There’s a lot of potential here.”
- David Dexter
Safer Foundation's Dee White-Smith and North Lawndale ATC resident Edwin Valentine pose in front of the newly painted wall at the facility.
“They didn’t have any professional tools,” said Yvonne Johnson, Safer’s Associate Vice President of North Lawndale Adult Transition Center. “This was all done from scratch by hand. They just took a picture of what they wanted and created what you see here.”
Two walls are gray with orange, blue, and purple dots, matching Safer’s branded materials; while a third wall uses the same colors but has a design matching an expressionist painting that had been hanging in the room. Office Administrator Dee White-Smith oversaw the project.
“It was a fun and exciting project,” she said. “It let the clients show their creative side and it incorporated Safer’s new look.”
Yvonne Johnson, Safer's Associate Vice President of North Lawndale ATC, enjoys the newly painted common room.
Johnson also talked about how it’s important to let the clients demonstrate their talents. In the spring, North Lawndale ATC residents performed an original play, “What’s Going On” in the same room.
“It just shows the skill of some of the residents of this facility,” she said. “There’s a lot of potential here.”
- David Dexter
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