Ohio Valley Goodwill Attends Homeless Mural Dedication Event in Downtown Cincinnati!

Prominently on display on the side of the Community Housing Recovery Hotel located in the heart of Over-the-Rhine, the large mural is the latest in a series of murals created by Artworks in partnership with the City of Cincinnati. The October 3rd formal dedication was the culmination of more than six months of work by Artworks youth apprentices and artists who turn bare walls into public masterpieces. The theme of the mural was the issue of homelessness in the city of Cincinnati and featured the faces of local citizens who have been challenged with homelessness.

Ohio Valley Goodwill was pleased to be in attendance at the dedication ceremony and has been a member of the Continuum of Care; a local consortium of human service organizations who work collaboratively to address the issue of homelessness; for many years. Last year, Goodwill served more than 900 veterans and others challenged with homelessness in the Greater Cincinnati area and is dedicated to helping people to attain permanent housing in the community. “As a representative of Ohio Valley Goodwill, I was pleased to be part of the mural dedication event and learn more about the “you hold the key” campaign,” said Sharon Hannon, Marketing Manager. You Hold The Key is a community awareness and engagement campaign aimed to promote dialogue and inspire empathy around the issue of homelessness in Greater Cincinnati through public art.

One of the highlights of the dedication ceremony program was the sharing of the compelling story of one of the featured faces in the mural, a young woman, who talked about her own journey from homelessness to self-sufficiency and the struggles that she and her young son faced. She chose to share her face as well as her son’s as part of the mural to bring awareness to the humanity of homelessness and to inspire others.

To view the mural in person, visit 1225 Vine Street in Over-the-Rhine in downtown Cincinnati. Ohio Valley Goodwill congratulates the many artists and individuals who worked together to create this public masterpiece. To find out more about Ohio Valley Goodwill’s programs and services to address homelessness, visit www.cincinnatigoodwill.org/services.