Community art project at Allied Services honors Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month

SCRANTON — The Orange Butterfly Community Art Reception, in celebration of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month this March, took place Thursday, March 27, at Allied Services in The Dorms of the William Warren Scranton Residence to reveal a new art installation.

The collaborative project exhibited in the hall was created by the people who live there to honor Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month. The bright orange butterfly theme symbolizes the residents’ vibrance in the community.

“This installation and this month are all about inclusion, growth, and transformation,” said Mike Killeen, assistant vice president of the Developmental Services Division at Allied Services.

It was Holly Yorkonis, events and digital media coordinator, who asked her supervisor, Carmela Fox, vice president of human resources and employee culture for Allied, about doing a community art project for Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month and World Down Syndrome Day. From there Elizabeth Ross, the Recreation Coordinator, met with Yorkonis and they were off to the races with their inspiring project.

“Community art is amazing. Anybody can do it, everybody can be involved in it on any level,” said Yorkonis. “And this is a permanent piece now.”

Holly Yorkonis said she hopes the butterflies brighten up the hallways of this part of Allied Services in Scranton and make people curious to raise that awareness. She said Allied Services has a huge art program and murals throughout their facilities, so this is just one more extension of that.

“It just looks so good. The fact that Liz and I have been working on it for an entire month and then to see it all come together — we had our install day on Tuesday, and we were just in awe!” said Yorkonis. “Bringing the clients and individuals that live here with the employees together to enjoy the art reception really says something about our community.”

Everybody was dressed in bright orange to celebrate the art opening and there was plenty of enthusiasm between both workers and residents about this newly displayed project.

“We got the residents to paint and the ones who aren’t able to paint, they did the colors or whatever we had to do make them a butterfly,” said Liz Ross.

William Warren Scranton Residence at Allied Services is a dormitory for people with Down Syndrome and all different development diagnoses. Ross said they offer their residents pet therapy, librarian visits, movie outings, holiday celebrations, and more at the facility throughout the year.

“If someone asks for something, we do it,” said Ross.

This was a meaningful opportunity to highlight the importance of supporting individuals with developmental disabilities. “We’ve come a long way,” said Mike Killeen.

Allied Services opened their programs in 1980, bringing in residents from White Haven State Center and Clarks Summit State Hospital. Since then, the landscape of care has completely changed for those living with disabilities — and in the best ways!

“You don’t want to harp on the past. Sometimes you have to know where you’ve been to see where you should be going, so the past is relevant to see what we celebrate today,” said Killeen.

People living with disabilities are seen, and they are loved. They are valued by their families and their communities, while in the past, that was not always possible. We’ve improved our understanding of mental health and developmental disabilities through the decades and the impact of that progression is important to recognize as we continue moving forward.

“Maybe they give us the intangibles — patience, understanding, empathy, vulnerability, acceptance, unconditional love — qualities that make us look in the mirror to be better people,” said Killeen.

“Freedom” by Jordan Hart was playing on a screen as the art reception took place. This music and art video captures the Orange Butterfly Event perfectly, vividly showing the impact of inclusion, growth, and transformation through the lens of a mom who supported her son with Down Syndrome to him now supporting her as she ages.