Toms River Girl's Mural Project Aims To Spread Healing Message

TOMS RIVER, NJ — A Toms River teen is working to bring awareness to mental health and addiction issues and the role art can play in helping people by creating a mural downtown.

Alessandra Sophia Regenye, who is a Cadette in the Girl Scouts of the Jersey Shore council, is trying to collect the supplies needed to create her mural, titled "Toms River Art Heals," to help draw attention to the issues involving the opioid crisis, mental health and the ongoing impact of Superstorm Sandy.

"My goal is decreasing the stigma attached to mental health and addiction issues; and, increasing awareness of holistic health approaches many forget to consider, while bringing attention to the impact art can have on healing and building resiliency," Regenye wrote in a letter seeking support. "These approaches are often less expensive, more accessible because you can do them in your own home and can possibly treat people’s mental health without addictive medications that often have side effects."

"The mural’s visual image and message, Toms River 'Art Heals,' will touch many lives who see it as a reminder of how they have survived difficult times, (and) how working through different forms of art can be very healing and is a healthy solution to helping one cope with life’s big challenges," she wrote.

The mural will be on the outer wall of Cafe Enigma, which is owned by Lotano Development. Yvonne Yaar, who has been heavily involved with other murals in Toms River, has helped Sophie design the Toms River Art Heals mural and come up with the appropriate list of materials. Yaar was the project manager for the mural on the side of the A Thyme For All Seasons on Main Street, which was designed by artist was Elizabeth Paseler and for the mural on the side of the Simply Skin building on Water Street by artist Elody Gyekis. Yaar was the artist on the murals at The Shops @53 and on the side of Family First Funding at 218 Main St.

The mural project also has received support from the Downtown Toms River Business Improvement District and the Greater Toms River Chamber of Commerce.

The mural project received approval from the Toms River Planning Board earlier this month.

Sophie said she is not allowed to accept donations of money, but anyone who donates items on her list will have their name or company name included on the donors list. The Toms River Business Improvement District is accepting donations on her behalf. Visit the project's Facebook page for more information.

"The Toms River 'Art Heals' Community Mural for Healing and Recovery project is meant to represent emotional recovery for our communities here in Ocean County, particularly for Toms River," where some residents are still displaced as a result of Sandy, she wrote.

The community mosaic mural will be a reminder to those struggling with addiction or other mental health conditions that recovery is possible. The mural's lifespan is approximately 30 to 40 years.

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Note: This article has been updated to correct Yvonne Yaar's role with other mural projects in Toms River and to correctly identify the artist on the mural on A Thyme For All Seasons. Patch regrets the errors.

Photo of Sophie Regenye (center) with Nick Zorojew and Yvonne Yaar after the Planning Board approved the project. Photo courtesy Alysa Regenye, published with permission