Voices of Our Community

Voices of Our Community: Expression Tunnel Exhibit Opens in Gallery Showcase

An Evening of Art, Healing & Cultural Connection Inspired by Black Youth Mental Health Dialogue from the Stronger Together Conference

ROCKY MOUNT, N.C. – Voices of Our Community: Expression Tunnel Exhibit will open on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Imperial Centre for the Arts & Sciences offering an inspiring evening of conversation, art, and community connection. Hosted by Stronger Together NC, UNC Suicide Prevention Institute in partnership with Trillium Health Resources, the event will feature live jazz music, hors d’oeuvres, and the unveiling of an impactful art installation rooted in collective expression and community mental health awareness.

The exhibit highlights the Expression Tunnel, a 12-foot-tall community-created art installation constructed from individually painted panels by participants and attendees of the 2025 Stronger Together Conference. This installation symbolizes shared experiences and the collective journey toward mental health awareness, healing, and resilience.

“We’re honored to bring this creative expression from the Stronger Together Conference into a gallery setting where voices continue to be heard and celebrated,” said Dr. Rodney Harris, Associate Professor, UNC Suicide Prevention Institute. “This exhibit ensures Black youth know they are seen, heard and supported and demonstrates how art creates a safe space for dialogue and collective healing.”

The Stronger Together Conference centered on cultural connection, creative expression, and community care to support Black youth and young adults’ mental wellness. Participants shared personal experiences, artistic performances, and reflections that deepened conversations about mental health, belonging, coping strategies, and access to culturally relevant resources. Held amid rising concern across North Carolina and the nation about mental health challenges facing Black youth — including higher representation in suicide and attempts and lower utilization of crisis resources — the exhibit continues the important work of visibility, dialogue, and support that began at the Stronger Together Conference.

“Each panel in the Expression Tunnel represents someone’s story and a step toward healing,” said Hayley Sink, Senior Vice President of Community Health and Innovation for Trillium. “As Black youth face challenges that too often go unseen or unaddressed, Trillium’s continued partnership with Stronger Together highlights the power of choosing connection and continuing the conversation to ensure black youth and other groups disproportionately impacted by suicide have the support they need when facing a mental health crisis.”

The gallery opening invites youth, community members, advocates, families, and supporters to celebrate creativity, reflect on shared experiences, and continue community-based dialogue about healing and mental health support.

For more information and to RSVP click here.

For questions, please contact:

Dr. Rodney Harris
(919) 961-7458
drrodneyempowermentgroup@gmail.com 

ABOUT TRILLIUM HEALTH RESOURCES

Trillium Health Resources is an innovative health plan for individuals with serious behavioral health, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and traumatic brain injury in 46 counties in North Carolina. Through contracts with NCDHHS, we serve Medicaid members on the Tailored Plan and NC Medicaid Direct, state-funded recipients who are uninsured, and members on the Innovations Waiver. Trillium’s mission is transforming lives and building community well-being through partnership and proven solutions. We take an integrated approach to health and wellbeing, coordinating care across multiple systems to achieve improved health outcomes, quality of care and efficient use of resources. Trillium is dedicated to meeting the unique needs of the individuals and communities we serve, and remains focused on delivering the right services, in the right amount, at the right time.