In Howard County, a dazzling new bus shelter offers an uplifting message

On busy Route 1 in Howard County, most bus stops consist of a roadside pole stuck in the ground. But a stop outside a CVS in Elkridge, Md., has a new bus shelter — with a dazzling twist. Instead of the typical bare-bones steel structure, mirror mosaic tiles spell out “Welcome! Everybody!” Inspirational messages advise “Don’t give up” and “You are safe.” On one side there is a sparkly mosaic Little Free Library with books for the taking. Colorful butterflies adorn the clear side panels, and the message “Our sacred space” greets people sitting on the bench.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” handyman George Smith, 54, said as he waited for his bus to work on a recent cold, misty morning. “It doesn’t feel like a normal bus stop. It feels like a little home.” The homey feeling is precisely what Erin Cassell had hoped for when while working for months to get the shelter installed.

“I wanted to bring art to the community, bring the community together and lift everyone up to feel they matter and are worth something amazing, rather than having to stand next to a pole in the rain,” she said.

First Cassell won a $10,000 grant in 2017 via the Changemaker Challenge, a contest held every two years by the Columbia-based Horizon Foundation and United Way of Central Maryland. The grants target innovative approaches to addressing community needs in Howard.

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Source: The Washinton Post