Hands Of Hope Brings Light To Those Struggling

While commuting down 4th Street South in Glasgow, it's hard not to notice the serene landscape behind the Glasgow City-County Library and the mural of hands on the back of the building. Over the past month, Glasgow artist Cathryn McIntyre has been working on the Hands of Hope Mural while volunteers with the Valley CARE Coalition clean up the area to make it a place for community members to have a change of scenery and be inspired in their battle against mental health.

The vision of the project started earlier this year when McIntyre began to have reoccurring dreams during her own mental health struggle. In the dream she visited the completed mural and found comfort by the presence of the hands and felt uplifted by the hundreds of beautiful rocks painted by community members. "Since I kept having the same dreams about it, I felt it was something that needed to exist," said McIntyre. She then realized this vision had the potential to be something that could help the collective mental health of the community she lives in. She approached the Valley CARE Coalition and they also saw the benefits of creating a place for community members to gather in groups or on an individual basis and be inspired in their battle against depression and/or other mental health struggles.

With the cooperation of the Glasgow City-County Library to utilize their building, the project was started and McIntyre got to work. In addition to painting the mural, she gathered individuals and groups, starting at the Northeast Montana Fair, to paint rocks to include with the mural. "The bottom hands will have planters filled with hand-painted rocks. Community members in a depressive state can come down and take a rock to help them see the light on the other side. Or they can come here, pick up a rock and be inspired. They can come anytime, day or night, to get out of their funk," explained McIntyre. In addition to having a booth at the Fair, community members of all ages have painted rocks at Alive at Five events during the summer, at the Annual Valley CARE Coalition meeting and even Girl Scout Troop 2280 recently painted some. "I anticipate to have a rock painting table every year at the Fair. The goal is for an individual to take a rock to feel inspired so we will want to continue to replenish," said McIntyre.

The Valley C.A.R.E. Coalition's, which stands for Coordination, Accessibility, Resources and Education, mission is to facilitate positive changes that reduce stigma and raise awareness around behavioral health and to further connect or improve upon Valley County resources for achieving wellness to the benefit if its community members. In March, the Coalition helped support the inaugural Slash the Stigma hockey tournament, hosted by Brandi Thompson and Jordan Thompson with the support of the community and the Thompson family. The tournament was in honor of Devon Thompson who died of suicide at the age of 21 with a secondary purpose of bringing mental health into the forefront of conversations. McIntyre hopes by people seeing the mural and participating in rock painting, those involved are more open to talk about mental health and therefore inspire others. "Everyone has a mental health journey. That's why you work in healing so you can shift into helping others heal," stated McIntyre.

The Valley C.A.R.E. Coalition recently achieved non-profit status and is currently accepting donations for the upkeep of the mural as well as for other projects in the works. To make a donation, contact Katrena Palmer or Mary Hughes at Eastern Montana Community Mental Health Center, 406-228-9349, 1009 6th Ave N.