Auberle youths brighten Westmoreland courthouse
Travon B. enjoyed the chance to show off his artistic talents to an admiring audience on Wednesday, as murals he worked on were dedicated at the family-court division in the Westmoreland County Courthouse in Greensburg.
Travon, 13, was one of 50 youths, ages 11-18, from the Auberle program center in McKeesport who helped to create the nine murals.
"We might get mad at each other because we went over each other's paint. But we would just deal with it. I was pretty happy with (the murals). I feel like I'm famous," Travon said.
Family Court Judge John Driscoll welcomed judges, social workers and county officials to yesterday's dedication.
"We all kind of share a mission, which brought about this project. Everybody here, in one way or another, is a kind of stakeholder," he said.
Driscoll approached Auberle, a faith-based agency that serves at-risk children and their families, about the project.
Splashes of color and familiar Greensburg landmarks now brighten formerly sterile walls.
The murals show a father helping his son with a tie, a mother embracing a child and a young man donning a graduation cap.
They depict the courthouse, Blessed Sacrament Cathedral, the Palace Theatre and the city's train station.
"This will give the area some personality. We want people who come to family court to focus on the big picture -- why they are there and how to get good outcomes," Driscoll said.
The murals, he said, reflect "optimism, enthusiasm, love, affection."
"When kids come into a courtroom -- and parents, too -- their immediate reaction is that they are nervous, intimidated, afraid of what is going to happen," said Family Court Judge Christopher Feliciani.
"(The murals) will make a nice addition to the courthouse and hopefully change the atmosphere to help put families and children at ease," he said.
Two of the murals are free drawings the children designed with little artistic supervision.
Working with the children were professional muralists with the MLK (Moving Lives of Kids) Community Mural Project in Pittsburgh.
MLK has produced more than 500 murals in Pittsburgh, Miami, Atlanta, Texas, North Carolina, Detroit, Brazil and Haiti.
"We are not interested in just beautifying an area. We are interested in using artwork as a vehicle, having kids work together," said Kyle Holbrook, MLK executive artist.
The MLK artists ended up serving as mentors in some ways, said Gary Hazy, Auberle's director of residential services.
"The kids got not only the elements of art design. They came together and really worked with the artists. It was interesting to watch them help each other and critique each other without it turning into an argument," Hazy said.
"Half of the time, at-risk kids are only at risk because they have not been exposed to success. ... Working on the murals may not provide them with employment tomorrow. But it will help them with the soft skills leading to getting a job -- teamwork, showing up on time," he said.
Auberle resident LaWanda P., 16, said she was more interested in sports than in art.
"Mr. Kyle and Mr. Gary talked about it and said it would be more about community and diversity and bringing families together. It appealed to me because they said they would be in a family courthouse. It was for a good cause. ... I'm proud to see this," she said.
Funding for the project was provided by the Grable Foundation.
