Casey Milbrand, known for his bright murals around the Queen City, is working with Family Promise of Western New York to bring a bright spot for families experiencing homelessness.

Get our free mobile app

“My goal was really to create a message of hope that fit their mission statement and ‘Let Hope Shine Through ‘ is what I came up with. It’s inspired by an Emily Sunday song that’s called ‘Shine’ and I used that as inspiration for the mural.”

According to NEWS 4 (WIVB-TV) Family Promise of WNY is one of only two shelters in Erie County taking families that include fathers and teenage sons. Over 70 percent of their residents are children so Executive Director Luanne Firestone says they wanted to make the building feel like home.

“We really want to make the building bright and colorful and inspiring and almost magical which in a way can help lessen the sting of homelessness.”

Milbrand says he hopes to do more projects like this and be able to see the effect his work has on those that need it most.

“Bringing murals to places where people need them the most is kind of the goal and not everyone can go to a gallery to see art. I think bringing art to where it’s most needed is very important.”

Having worked in Buffalo for 40+ years, I agree that murals bring brightness and a sense of life to the city.  Even murals on buildings in need of repair create a sense of rebirth.

READ MORE Check out these other WNY Murals

9 Must See Public Art Street Murals in Buffalo

6 Secrets Only People From Buffalo Know

Hidden Features of Famous Buffalo Places

Architecture is both an art and science; combining function, form and design into a structure meant to last generations.

Take a tour of some of Buffalo's most famous places, and see the secrets these locations have been hiding in plain sight all along.

Gallery Credit: Wikipedia

More From The New 96.1 WTSS