A striking hand painted mural is now pride of place in Bangor’s Lakewood Centre for Young People, symbolising the personal journeys of the young people who reside there.
The concept and design were the brainchild of South Eastern Trust’s Communications Intern Emma Milligan who described how she came up with the idea of painting a tree and that the leaves would be formed by the hand prints of the young people, in a variety of colours.
“I thought it was a great idea as the young people come to Lakewood and then move on. I thought it was a great that they were able to leave their mark on the place,” said Emma.
Emma explained how “special” it was to have the young people and staff involved in the artistic process. “We created butterflies with the staff’s hand prints to symbolise that the staff are always here by the young person’s side. When the young people put their hands on the wall to form the painting print, they stood back, smiling and they could really see how they have left their mark on Lakewood. That really just made it all worthwhile. It was such an important moment”
Lakewood School Principal Jon Bleakney stressed, “It has been a fantastic shared experience with everyone, learning, growing and supporting each other together. It is great to see the butterflies representing the staff, depicted as floating around the tree and supporting our young people as best we can in a trauma informed therapeutic way.”
Assistant Director at Lakewood Marie-Louise Sloan described how the project offered an opportunity for, “Each child to add their handprint at the end of their journey in Lakewood.”
“This is such a beautiful individualised reminder of their progress and development as they prepare to transition back into the community.”
“We were delighted to work in partnership with our fantastic Communications team and our cherished young people and staff to co-design and create this wonderful centrepiece.”
