Art inspires hope and help in Independence

Brightlli team members celebrate the unveiling of a Be Well Bell at the Englewood Arts Center in Independence March 21. Pictured, from left, Burrell Behavioral Health Be Well Marketing Specialist Shelby Schneider, Director of Be Well Initiatives Bailey Pyle, Comprehensive Mental Health Systems Community Development Coordinator Andrew Campos, Be Well Program and Engagement Leader Nia Howard, Comprehensive Mental Health Systems Regional President Julie Pratt, Chief Operating Officer Lori Byl and Director of Regional Organization Affairs Carl Anderson.  

Full circle: Bell art display celebrates Englewood Arts Center’s development of Comprehensive Mental Health building 

INDEPENDENCE — The Be Well bell at the Englewood Arts Center is a nod to the building’s past and a symbol of hope for the future. 

The Englewood Arts Community and Comprehensive Mental Health Systems celebrated the unveiling of a public art display that encourages viewers to take care of their mental health, and to access whatever resources they might need to do so.  

Comprehensive Mental Health part of the Brightli group. Brightli’s Be Well Community movement is designed to ring in a new narrative about brain health through a variety of programs, including the public display of ceremonial bells that symbolize hope and healing. The bell in Independence was unveiled to the public during Englewood’s Third Friday Art Walk event March 21. Be Well Initiatives works with community partners to bring visibility to the mental wellness movement. The Be Well Bell program offers blank bells to be painted with a meaningful design by an artist(s) or as a community arts project. 

Artists Anna Marten and Karen E. Griffin collaborated to paint the Englewood Arts Center bell. 

Brightli Director of Be Well Initiatives Bailey Pyle, LPC, explained that the art installation includes a QR code that smartphone users can scan to access information on the Be Well program and on mental health services available at Comprehensive in Independence. 

“These aren’t just bells that we’re creating and plopping down into a community, but they are truly reflective of the community in which they exist. We know from lots of research that that’s when the bells are the most impactful and meaningful,” Pyle said. 

There are 19 Be Well bells on display in locations throughout Missouri. The bell at the Englewood Arts Center is the first Be Well bell installed in the Kansas City metro area. It’s also a full-circle moment for the Englewood Arts Center. 

“The Be Well Bell symbolizes the transition of the Comprehensive Mental Health Building into the Englewood Arts Center,” Englewood Arts Administrative Coordinator Peyton Follis said. “Additionally, it symbolizes the transition for our neighbors and community heading towards an even more vibrant future.” 

Pyle has a background in art therapy and is excited for the layers of symbolism that the Englewood bell will present for visitors to appreciate. 

“The beauty about art, whether it be visual arts, theater or music, is that artists intentionally create the layers hoping one of the layers will speak to someone,” Pyle said. “The hope with art is that it speaks to somebody, that it says something, and that we all get to interpret in our own way what it is saying.” 

The Englewood Arts Center opened in the spring of 2022 and is pioneering an affordable housing program for artists in the Independence neighborhood that surrounds the arts center. It sits in a remodeled medical building and has a mission to promote public art, events and programs, philanthropy and outreach. 

About Comprehensive Mental Health Services, Inc. (CMHS): Since 1969, CMHS has been the safety net provider for behavioral health services in eastern Jackson County, Missouri. Our goal has been and remains to provide the members of our community safe, accessible and affordable mental health and substance use recovery services by meeting community members where they are and walking with them through their journey towards wellness. Learn more about us at thecmhs.com