2017 FYSB Mural Contest Winner

Congratulations to TLP – Teen Living Programs in Chicago, IL, winners of the 2017 Family & Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) Mural Contest for Runaway and Homeless Youth (RHY) Programs.

RHY programs funded by FYSB were given the chance to win the materials to paint a mural in their facilities. A panel of FYSB representatives and youth from the 2016 FYSB Mural Contest winning organization selected the winner. Representatives from CAU were recognized at the 2017 National RHY Grantees Training.

Here is the winning artwork and accompanying essay.

Teen Living Programs is a non-profit organization that has supported and strengthened Chicago’s most vulnerable young people for over 40 years.  The program focus is solely on 14-24 year olds who are experiencing homelessness; and offers comprehensive, year-round services to address everything from emergency needs and housing to education, job readiness, and embracing a healthy lifestyle.  Program services are available on Chicago’s south side, in neighborhoods of high poverty and violence and where critical supportive services are lacking.

The young people served by TLP are survivors – of homelessness, trauma, and instability.  Each one of them has the extraordinary potential to rewrite their story.  Every day, the dedicated staff and volunteers of TLP work alongside our youth, encouraging them to focus their energy and potential on altering the course of their lives for the better.

The youth who participated in this project were asked to create ideas on canvas which were incorporated into the "Dream Quilt." Every other week for 10 sessions, Sinai volunteers assisted Margo Rush and Reba Blick, the artists who developed this program. The project allowed the youth to express their thoughts and feelings through art. Each session brought out more creativity and excitement among the group. Reba and Margo then put the individual canvases together forming the "Dream Quilt". The next venture, a "portable" mural, proved as successful as the quilt.