Common Wealth Murals volunteers hand out different colors of paint to clients from Work Opportunity Center.
Reminder Publishing photo by Sarah Heinonen
SPRINGFIELD — Drive through Springfield and they are everywhere. Larger-than-life explosions of color, words and portraiture on building walls. More than art for art’s sake, the murals tell the stories of the schools, organizations and people of Springfield. Soon, another of these murals will grace the exterior wall of Work Opportunity Center at 73 Market St.
With a little help from Mayor Domenic Sarno and Police Superintendent Lawrence “Larry” Akers, nearly 100 of Work Opportunity Center’s clients donned aprons and grabbed cups of paint to help create their mural. “I was surprised at the buy in. They want to tell their story, the value of their work, how they serve the community,” said Work Opportunity Center Executive Director Mary Akers.
The mural will tell the story of Work Opportunity Center’s history, from its beginnings in West Springfield to now, serving people at four sites in the greater Springfield area. The organization works with the state Department of Developmental Services to provide about 170 people with the services they need, including day programs in health and wellness, education, life skills and social growth, and employment with roughly 30 community business partners.
Akers said Work Opportunity Center is expanding, both geographically — with an eye on moving into Chicopee and Holyoke — and in programming. “We want to expand into an autism-only program. With autism, they need singular skills,” Akers said, explaining that the organizations would focus on teaching those clients behavioral skills more than life skills.
Common Wealth Murals has undertaken more than 100 murals — 60 in Springfield alone — in collaboration with area organizations, schools and nonprofits. Including the Work Opportunity Center project, the organization has 10 murals in progress.
While the subject of the murals is different with each partner and with every community, Common Wealth Murals Executive Director Britt Ruhe said, “There’s the same positive energy every time.” She emphasized the importance of representation. “Most people, if they see themselves represented at all, it’s in advertising.” Ruhe said Common Wealth Murals collaborates with their community partners to determine what they want to see in a mural. “If not actually themselves, it’s someone they know. Someone they can recognize.”
To learn more about Work Opportunity Center, visit wocinc.org. For more on Common Wealth Murals, visit commonwealthmurals.org.
