{"id":44135,"date":"2025-11-25T12:16:22","date_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:16:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/44135\/"},"modified":"2025-11-25T12:16:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-25T12:16:22","slug":"allentown-nonprofit-celebrates-10-years-of-helping-homeless","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/44135\/","title":{"rendered":"Allentown nonprofit celebrates 10 years of helping homeless"},"content":{"rendered":"

A new art exhibit celebrating the 10th anniversary of an Allentown nonprofit is serving as a reminder that homeless people are neighbors and members of the community.<\/p>\n

The exhibit, \u201cThe Art of Neighboring,\u201d is on display at Ripple Community Inc.\u2019s Community Building Center in Allentown\u2019s Franklin Park neighborhood. It features multimedia works of art from Ripple volunteers, clients and others connected to the organization, all centered on the \u201cneighboring\u201d theme.<\/p>\n

That theme, in Executive Director Sherri Brokopp Binder\u2019s view, has taken on new significance this year in the wake of the eviction of several encampments along the Jordan Creek in Allentown, which left dozens of homeless residents with nowhere to go.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has been a difficult and stressful time for our community members who are unsheltered, particularly those who have been affected by the closing of the encampments,\u201d Binder said during a recent reception marking Ripple\u2019s anniversary and the exhibit\u2019s opening. \u201cIt\u2019s just stressful to have your life upended like that.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, the exhibit is a testament to the \u201cresilience\u201d of the homeless community, and art\u2019s ability to heal mental wounds, said Kristen Baxter, director of Ripple\u2019s Community Building Center.<\/p>\n

Baxter leads the center\u2019s weekly \u201cArt Circle,\u201d which gathers at 10 a.m. Saturdays to work on art pieces. Every week, Baxter prepares a question or idea for the art circle group designed to foster meaningful conversation and friendships among the participants before they begin to work on their pieces.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who are isolated, are marginalized, and just don\u2019t have connections, meaningful connections,\u201d Baxter said. \u201cSo, I feel like what I try to do in art circle, it\u2019s not just like making something, but it\u2019s connecting with people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tim Himmelwright, who said he became homeless this year, is a regular at Ripple\u2019s art circle. The \u201cArt of Neighboring\u201d exhibition has on display his untitled piece, a collage with a centerpiece black and white photo of the old Lehigh County court house, PPL Center and another high-rise looming large in the background, a construction crane also in view.<\/p>\n

Himmelwright said his piece represents the merging of old and new in the downtown Allentown neighborhood.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has helped renew my sense of belonging,\u201d Himmelwright said about creating art. \u201cBecause no matter where we are economically, our artwork goes beyond those boundaries.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ten years of serving the community<\/p>\n

Ripple Community Inc. began as a support group for homeless residents in a church basement, according to Binder. Over the past 10 years, it has expanded to a larger Community Building Center for programming and events, launched an affordable housing program called \u201cRCI Villages,\u201d and a service hub connecting clients to addiction and health resources.<\/p>\n

The organization has big plans for the future \u2014 in 2023, the former congregation of Emmanuel United Church of Christ at 1547 W. Chew St gifted its property to Ripple Community Inc., which plans to convert the building into subsidized affordable apartments and a community center. It received zoning approval<\/a> last week allowing the community center plans to go forward.<\/p>\n

Ripple board Chair Sara Russ said the nonprofit is still deciding whether to relocate its Community Building Center to Chew Street, or continue to offer programs at both locations.<\/p>\n

Binder said that as Ripple grows and changes, it will continue to put building community at its forefront.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur job here is to create a safe and welcoming community, and that is our purpose, that is our mission, and everything else that we do is in service to that primary goal,\u201d Binder said in remarks to the audience during the exhibit\u2019s opening reception. \u201cI hope that is what you felt when you walked in the doors this afternoon. I hope that\u2019s what you feel now, as you spend some time with us and with our community. And we are looking forward to what we hope will be another 10 years as an organization.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Art of Neighboring\u201d is on display at Ripple Community Inc.\u2019s headquarters, 1335 W. Linden St in Allentown, through Jan. 3.<\/p>\n

Reporter Lindsay Weber can be reached at Liweber@mcall.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A new art exhibit celebrating the 10th anniversary of an Allentown nonprofit is serving as a reminder that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":44136,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[119,121,120,433,182,139,28,432],"class_list":{"0":"post-44135","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-allentown","8":"tag-allentown","9":"tag-allentown-headlines","10":"tag-allentown-news","11":"tag-lehigh-county","12":"tag-local-news","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-pennsylvania","15":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=44135"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/44135\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=44135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=44135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=44135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}