From 2012 to 2017, the United States fencing market increased 6.2% each year. Fences are great for providing privacy and security to a home or business and can also look visually appealing, subsequently boosting property values.
Fences can also be used to evoke inspiration, however, and provide hope to a struggling community.
According to Fox 9, a fence mural in Minneapolis is serving as a canvas for inspiration for individuals struggling with past drug abuse who are on their way to recovery.
A Minneapolis artist teamed up with a treatment provider to turn an otherwise conventional privacy fence into the empowering mural.
“This represents lifting each other up,” said Shane Anderson, the artist who worked on the project with help from patients at the treatment center. “I think that’s very cool. A lot of the words you see throughout — ‘hope’ — we’re gonna come back and put shadow and highlight on here to draw these out even more.”
Anderson and his artistic team spent an entire day finishing the colorful project, which stands 1,200 square feet long in the heart of Minneapolis’ arts district.
“Our clients really enjoyed being able to express their recovery and have this opportunity to show that recovery is real and happens every day in Minnesota,” said Monique Bourgeois, chief community relations officer at Nuway.
Abuse of illicit drugs and alcohol costs the United States approximately more than $740 billion each year and takes the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. In fact, according to CNN, U.S. drug overdose deaths increased 7% throughout 2017 and doubled over a 10-year period from 2007 to 2017.
Though a fence mural won’t fix the national problem overnight, it can certainly help by stopping just one person from using again, or simply by bringing more awareness to this national epidemic.
“It has a lot of presence and I think it’s going to create conversation to challenge the way they think about substance use disorder,” added Cassidy Schuster, Noway chemical dependency technician. “It’s a great way to get the conversation going.”
