It’s amazing the difference a fresh coat of paint can sometimes make.
More than 20 residents of Alpha House, a pre-release center in Billings, have been busy the past two weeks with paint and brush, changing the appearance of one downtown Billings alleyway.
See the residents creating the artwork below:
They are currently putting the finishing touches on a large mural that will transform the alleyway on 17 North 31st Street—just outside the building where many have found sobriety and sanity attending NA and AA meetings.
“You know I’m not an artist, but I’ve had a good time doing it,” says resident Josh Burkes.
“We get a lot of people walking through here that are recovering and need recovering—and when they see this, it is uplifting for one as they are on their way to hopefully a meeting,” he says.
Local artist Judd Thompson has been leading the project and says it’s always been a dream to do something like this.
“It really made an impact on me to work as an artist with these guys and to hear their story—and to know that sometimes when you are down and out on your luck you just need to pick up a brush and start painting and get out of your mind and I heard a lot of those comments,” Thompson says.
Alpha House serves as an intermediate step between prison and returning to the community where residents stay for approximately six months. Last month, residents put in 85 hours of community volunteer work and this month they are aiming to almost double that number.
“Some of them are just terrified after being in prison for so long to take those first steps back into community and when you do it like this and have community members walking by all day saying that looks great you are doing that—they get excited and they take it to heart,” says Josh Dill, recreation manager at Alternatives, Inc., which operates Alpha House.
Sherwin-Williams and Midway Rentals donated some of the supplies for the project, but most came from an anonymous donation to spruce up the area.
“It’s something that is going to stick around for quite a while, probably past their stay at Alternatives or Alpha House. And it’s something that is going to be around for quite a while,” says Blade Stiller, an Alternatives, Inc. board member.
And for residents like Josh Burkes, who is about to finish his time at Alpha House and embark on a fresh journey, it’s a positive way to leave his mark.
“My contribution is in this alley. I have been to both these meetings, so it means something to me as well. It’s been a great experience for me. It needed to happen. I wouldn’t change a thing,” he says.
