Just unveiled mural product of juvenile offenders’ hard work

Over a two-month period, 10 juvenile offenders designed and painted a mural that was unveiled in Montgomery County this week.

The Fresh StART program was an effort through the Latin American Youth Center’s Maryland Mulitcultural Youth Centers.

Janelle Cauthen, who was in charge of Fresh StART, said the idea was to let the 14- to 20-year-olds express themselves creatively while at the same time staying out of trouble during the summer months.

“With these kids, it’s hard to find them jobs, but this gives them job readiness,” she said, explaining that, as part of the program they also learned basic work skills in classes.

The mural, on an inside wall of the county’s Judicial Center, is called “Youth Ascending the Stairs” and features colored representations of a row of faces in an almost upward climb.

Muralist Joey Tomassoni, who taught the art skills needed for the project, said when the youths came up with the idea for the design they wanted to embody their own struggles to break free from their past criminal offenses.

“They wanted to show what they struggle with: not bring who society and their past experiences expect them to be,” Tomassoni said. “Things can change for the better.”

Originally close to 20 juvenile offenders — selected by the Department of Juvenile Services — signed on to work on the mural. But about half stuck with it until Wednesday’s unveiling, Cauthen said.

Brainstorming was the first part of the process. Once a vision of the mural was born, Tomassoni said the group spent two months on the actual canvas. Their schedule came to about four hours of work per day, four or five times a week.

To Tomassoni, the artistic talent the youngsters gained were positive, but the most satisfying part of the project was their renewed confidence in themselves.

“It was just a wonderful experience,” he said. “The artwork facilitated this thing that is so much more — lives transformed.”