NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — On Saturday morning, Our Place Nashville hosted a "paint-the-mural volunteer day" to celebrate a coming milestone in their community.
In late January and early February, they will be opening 40 new affordable housing units for residents with developmental disabilities.
The mural was created by Andee Rudloff, and of the 50 some volunteers who help within the Our Place Nashville community, several showed up to support the project.
Our Place Nashville is a local nonprofit that provides adults who have developmental disabilities with homes that are affordable. They live alongside graduate students and other adults in communities built by Our Place Nashville, supporting one another while learning independence.
Their waiting list is continuing to get longer, according to Executive Director, Carolyn Naifeh.
They have grown from 12 residents in 2015 to 70 in 2023 — and with the new housing units, those numbers are going to double to 110 residents in just a few weeks.
Some of the volunteers who came to help include future residents and their families, Vanderbilt students from the Peabody Honors Program and neighbors who enjoy being part of Rudloff's work.
If you want to learn more about Our Place Nashville, visit their website! Artist Andee Rudloff also has a Facebook page with more photos and video of the mural being put together.
This is a story I immediately went home and showed my boys - young athletes with big dreams. The Vanderbilt football team's success has stolen the spotlight - what I love about Steve Layman's story is he reveals the individual hardships it took to get there. As Clark Lea says, "we all have scuff marks." This team proves perseverance pays off!
- Carrie Sharp
