{"id":117580,"date":"2026-01-10T01:11:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-10T01:11:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/117580\/"},"modified":"2026-01-10T01:11:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-10T01:11:09","slug":"san-antonio-mural-honoring-camila-mendoza-olmos-turns-loss-into-message-of-hope","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/117580\/","title":{"rendered":"San Antonio mural honoring Camila Mendoza Olmos turns loss into message of hope"},"content":{"rendered":"

SAN ANTONIO \u2013 A San Antonio mural honoring Camila Mendoza Olmos<\/a> shares a powerful message about mental health and suicide prevention.<\/p>\n

The mural, located along San Pedro Avenue and West Cypress Street, has drawn attention from passersby, including Molly Wright.<\/p>\n

Wright told KSAT that the mural stopped her in her tracks. She left flowers at the mural after seeing it for the first time. <\/p>\n

\u201cShe didn\u2019t have to die, she didn\u2019t,\u201d said Wright. \u201cThis is not an isolated story. This happens way too many times.\u201d <\/p>\n

Wright said she didn\u2019t know Mendoza Olmos personally, but felt compelled to stop after driving by the mural.<\/p>\n

The artist behind the mural, Colten Valentine, also did not know Mendoza Olmos. However, he said that he felt strongly about placing the artwork in a location where thousands of people pass by every day.<\/p>\n

\u201cI needed this mural up on this wall, specifically right here on San Pedro, because a lot of people drive by this wall every day,\u201d Valentine said. \u201cBy painting something like this, hopefully with the number to the suicide hotline, it can save a life or help someone that\u2019s going through something that we just don\u2019t know about, you know.\u201d<\/p>\n

In addition to Mendoza Olmos\u2019 portrait, the mural highlights suicide prevention resources, including the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a reminder to check in on your family and friends and anyone and everyone, you know? It\u2019s a reminder to check in,\u201d Valentine said.<\/p>\n

For Frank Trevino, who helped lead the search for Mendoza Olmos, seeing the mural for the first time was emotional. <\/p>\n

Trevino said he has grown close to Mendoza Olmos\u2019 family through the tragedy.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s beautiful,\u201d Trevino said.<\/p>\n

When asked how it will feel to see the mural every time he drives by, Trevino responded, \u201cMore tears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Trevino said Mendoza Olmos\u2019 story is already making an impact beyond San Antonio.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve read numerous reports where calls to the crisis center or you know the hotlines have tripled and quadrupled or you know even more,\u201d Trevino said. \u201cSo already I think it has been making a difference for her story to be told.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright hopes the mural reaches people who may be struggling in silence.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope that they get that number, call that number,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or thoughts of suicide, call 988 or text TALK to 741-741.<\/p>\n

You can also reach out to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) or the National Alliance of Mental Illness (NAMI) at 210-223-7233 (SAFE) or 800-316-9241. You can also text NAMI to 741-741.<\/p>\n

Resources can also be found at the link here.<\/a><\/p>\n

More coverage of this story on KSAT:<\/p>\n

Copyright 2026 by KSAT – All rights reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN ANTONIO \u2013 A San Antonio mural honoring Camila Mendoza Olmos shares a powerful message about mental health…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117581,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[46707,2125,82,84,83],"class_list":["post-117580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-antonio","tag-camila-mendoza-olmos","tag-mental-health","tag-san-antonio","tag-san-antonio-headlines","tag-san-antonio-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117580"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117580\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117581"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}