Creating a mural and creating community at Haven for Hope

The San Antonio Haven for Hope recently commissioned local artist, Cletus Behlmann, S.M., to create a mural design for their Prospect Courtyard project.

The courtyard wall is more 650 feet long and more than seven feet high, and the mural drapes the entire surface.

Brother Cletus Behlmann has been a part of St. Mary's University since 1979. To complete this massive undertaking, Cletus arranged for students and faculty from St. Mary's to paint his designs onto the wall. The painters were allowed to choose their own colors and add patterns at will.

The mural was completed over the course of two, all-day sessions. Various students with different majors all came together, along with several professors, to aid Cletus and to give back to the community in which they live and study.

"This is really what the root of community service should be," said political science major Blake Farthing. People give, they help out, and it's not just the typical show-up-somewhere-and-clean-something-up. So it allows you to put your own touch on something."

This video features student volunteers, Haven for Hope staff and Brother Cletus speaking on how this mural has created a community and what it will mean to the homeless who pass through the shelter.

Alexander Tami, a biology major at St. Mary's, says "I'm happy to be part of it and brighten each individual [who] passes through."

A time-lapse of the artists working on the mural concludes the video.