February 4, 2019
ECCC art majors who painted a mural in the Family Visitation Room of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services office in Decatur were (from left) Joe Prine III, Halley Brooks, Rebekah Smith, Cassidy Jenkins, and Keli Smith. Not pictured is Kaitlyn Morris.
Art students at East Central Community College recently brightened up an area of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services building in Decatur by painting a mural on the wall of the Family Visitation Room.
According to ECCC adjunct art instructor LeeReyna Lopez Leyva, the MDCPS reached out to the college’s Art Department requesting the room be painted to provide a more pleasing space for the foster youth they serve. The office has more than 30 children in foster care, as well as about 30 families they serve in In-Home Service cases.
“The Art Department is thrilled to have been a part of this creation that will brighten the atmosphere for the youth at the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services in Decatur,” said Lopez Leyva.
Lopez Leyva said the Art Department faculty appointed sophomore art major Halley Brooks of Carthage to create a sketch of the mural. Once completed and approved, other art majors assisting in the painting of the mural were sophomore Cassidy Jenkins of Philadelphia, sophomore Joe Prine III of Louin, sophomore Keli Smith of Forest, and freshman Rebekah Smith of Chunky. Sophomore ECCC student Kaitlyn Morris of Conehatta also assisted.
