A youth group in Rapid City teamed up with the police department for a new mural in Art Alley. The group is called Youth Voices in Prevention, or V.I.P.. It teaches prevention tactics for issues like sexual and dating violence, gang affiliation and suicide. The program helps create support systems and give kids positive outlets.
There are about 2,000 kids enrolled in VIP. Eighth through 12th graders choose from a wide array of activities geared towards prevention. A group of kids interested in art decided on a mural to get that message across.
“A police officer holding a little girl’s hand with an umbrella. He’s holding the umbrella for her. And then there’s going to be a storm in the background. And everything’s going to be black and white But the little girl’s going to be in color because he’s protecting her from the bad.”
Fourteen year old Peyton Swallow helped design the image. She says they asked the police department to get involved in their project.
“They were actually really overjoyed to be involved with us. They were excited. So this is something that was really cool and we weren’t sure at first if they wanted to do this.”
Swallow says she’s glad the police department helped come up with the idea and paint it because it represents law enforcement's relationship with the community.
“It’s kind of like the community and how the police are helping to protect us. And he’s protecting the little girl from the bad influences like drugs and alcohol, whatever you want the storm to be.
Swallow says she enjoys the opportunities in VIP. The youth group also focus on other issues-like human trafficking-and helping victims find a way out.