Healdsburg’s Paul Mahder Gallery opens exhibit on homelessness

North Sonoma County Services and the Paul Mahder Gallery are opening a new show, “With No Place to Call Home: Perspectives on Homelessness.” The focus of the show, and the school programs that generated it, is to bring the attention of the public to homelessness in Healdsburg.

The show is dedicated to the memory of Patricia Gilson, a homeless woman who died in a Healdsburg public restroom.

Art students and their teachers have worked on projects that reflect their feelings when faced with the faces of the Healdsburg homeless population.

North Sonoma County Services staff said in a press release that they believe that children “create images that compel their audiences to action and to look beyond the stereotypes of homelessness.”

Colleen Householder, executive director of the agency, along with Harvey Brody, art education director at the Healdsburg Center for the Arts, and Rick Cafferata, the agency’s Homeless Outreach Coordinator, joined forces to create this “educational program of community awareness.” They went to the schools and spoke with the students.

Both Cafferata and Householder have painful personal stories to share with the students. Cafferata was formerly homeless and is a recovering drug user. A family friend gave him a place to stay when he was at his most vulnerable, leading to his turning his life around. Householder had family members with addiction and mental health challenges, as well as medical bills that had the potential to cause the family to become homeless. She identifies with the community.

According to Brody, the completed artworks are “as powerful as anything done on the Holocaust.”

Brody said that all local schools but one participated in the program, including the 48 students in Freshman Seminar at Healdsburg High School.

According to Brody, Cafferata has been an “incredible success in his association with the schools and for what is happening in the community.”

Healdsburg High School fine arts teacher Linus Lancaster’s class has been working in tandem with an English class to create works on wood panels.

The show is curated, and while many of the pieces will not be on display, they include powerful images of the people who remain “hidden” among us.

“Being homeless is the process of being traumatized,” said Brody. “This is about making the invisible visible.”

In addition, the project opened a safe zone for homeless persons to create art once a week in March at the Healdsburg Regional Library. Art instructor Sarah Hylton was available, along with pencils, ink, watercolors and other artistic media. Their works will be included in the exhibition.

There are about 150 homeless people in Healdsburg. While there was once an overnight emergency shelter at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Healdsburg, it is no longer open for that purpose.

North Sonoma County Services started planning the project in July and started presenting in the schools in October.

Their hope is to raise the visibility of homelessness in Healdsburg, as well as donations to NSCS to purchase iPods for each of the homeless people in Healdsburg, as well as food, tents and backpacks.

“We want to help make their lives more stable and less stressful,” Brody said.

In addition to the work with the students, three local photographers - Sue Nelson, Gail Ginder and Pamela Moulton - have created a photo essay to accompany the show.

The “With No Place To Call Home: Perspectives on Homelessness” exhibit runs Saturday through May 26 at the Paul Mahder Gallery, 222 Healdsburg Ave. The reception is from 4-7:30 p.m. Saturday. Admission is free.

The documentary also will be screened at the Healdsburg Flix Mix, also at the Paul Mahder Gallery at 8 p.m. May 20 and May 21. The show is free.

For more information on homelessness in Healdsburg, call 433-6161.