CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A new mural at a Charleston addiction treatment facility is shining a spotlight on the journey of recovery in a powerful way.
Recovery Point Charleston unveiled the new mural Tuesday. It has been a collaborative effort between the women at Recovery Point, local artists, and the City of Charleston’s Office of Public Art and its stART Project.
Recovery Point’s Carrie Cunningham said the mural, which now spans across the side of the facility, stands as a symbol of hope and resilience, a reflection of what goes on within.
“Just driving by, normally it’s a basic blue building, but getting this mural on the side of here, it kind of gives hope to the community and it shows the transformation of what goes on inside this building, from being in the darkness and being hopeless to working on yourself in this program,” Cunningham said.
Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin said the mural helps reflect that journey of hope and healing that the women go through at Recovery Point out to the community. 
“We are supportive of women in recovery, we are supportive of this place and this space where women can recover, can grow, can lean on other community members,” Goodwin said. “To have this public display of what it actually feels like going through recovery I think is what is so impactful.”
The women at the facility started taking art classes led by the Office of Public Art last summer and they kept their ideas in a sketchbook representing what they wanted to see within the mural.
Cunningham said the women then transitioned those ideas over onto separate panels that make up the mural.
She said it was a rewarding process to witness.
“When they put it on the side of the building, what they wanted to see working on it themselves, you know, they worked on it everyday last week and I guess when they saw it complete and come together, you know, just the looks on their faces and they felt like they were a part of something really more than themselves,” said Cunningham.
Recovery Point offers a program specifically for women, because Cunningham said there are many women around the Charleston community who are struggling with addiction.
Goodwin said the mural truly paints the story of each of them.
“It tells the story, it tells the story of despair, of sadness, of depression, where you are in the throes of recovery and how you can, how we all can rise through and from the ashes,” said Goodwin.
You can now see the mural at Recovery Point which is located at 501 Stockton Street.