A Just Unicorn Good News Story — Columbia, MO
Some of the hardest moments in a child’s life happen in waiting rooms. That’s exactly what a group of people in Columbia, Missouri, set out to soften with a paintbrush.
Earlier this year, Burrell Behavioral Health unveiled a brand-new mural inside its newly renovated Berrywood clinic in Columbia. It’s not tucked in a hallway or a break room — it lives right in the youth psychiatric waiting area, on the third floor, in the exact spot where kids and teens sit before some of their toughest conversations.
The mural was created by local Columbia artist Adrienne Luther, in partnership with Children’s Grove, an organization founded in the wake of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy with the mission of bringing peace and healing to children everywhere. Together, they built something interactive: vibrant colors, hopeful sayings, and even fish and butterfly magnets kids can move around while they wait — something small to hold onto, something to do with anxious hands.
Megan Steen, chief operating officer of Burrell Behavioral Health, explained the thinking behind it plainly: many of the people walking into that clinic are arriving at some of their darkest moments. The mural was designed as a partnership — a way to bring hope and lightness into a space that needed both.
Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe attended the ribbon-cutting alongside Boone County commissioners and Columbia Public Schools’ superintendent, and she put her finger on why a piece of art like this matters so much for kids in particular:
“I just think kids don’t hear that enough” — meaning the simple, direct message painted right there on the wall: *you are enough.*
It’s easy to overlook a mural. It’s paint on drywall, technically. But for a kid walking into treatment scared, or a parent walking in scared for their kid, a wall that says *you belong here, and you are enough* before a single word gets spoken can change the whole shape of that visit.
Columbia has leaned on public art before to bring the community together — murals, sculptures, spaces designed so people can see themselves reflected in their own city. This one just happens to be doing that work at one of the most vulnerable moments a family can walk through.
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**That’s today’s good news, straight from home.** If it made your day a little better, pass it on.
Story based on reporting by Andrew Kula, KOMU 8 News.