Where Hope Lives Leads Phoenix Mural Installation Honoring the Life of Iryna Zarutska and Restoring Hope for Women

Where Hope Lives leads a Phoenix mural honoring Iryna Zarutska, one of only 50 nationwide, raising awareness for women and human trafficking prevention.

PHOENIX, AZ, UNITED STATES, December 18, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Where Hope Lives, an entity of the Phoenix Dream Center and an organization committed to helping women heal and begin again, is leading a large-scale mural installation in Phoenix honoring the life of Iryna Zarutska and calling attention to the urgent need to protect women living in vulnerable circumstances.

Beginning Thursday, artist Ashley Elliott will begin painting a 40 foot mural on the Phoenix Dream Center campus. The mural is part of a national public art effort created to remember Iryna Zarutska and to spark awareness, conversation, and action around freedom, dignity, and justice for women. The Phoenix mural is one of only 50 installations nationwide, with Where Hope Lives selected to represent Arizona as part of this national effort to remember Iryna Zarutska and advocate for the protection of women.

Where Hope Lives serves women who have been harmed, exploited, or overlooked by providing safe housing, trauma informed care, education, and spiritual support. Rooted in the call to protect, serve, and restore, the organization exists to ensure that every woman has the opportunity to heal, rebuild, and move forward without walking alone. Learn more at https://wherehopelives.org/who-we-are.

“This mural represents more than a creative installation. It is a public declaration that silence is no longer an option,” said Brian and Skye D. Steele, Co Founders of Where Hope Lives. “Our hearts are broken for women who are failed by the very systems meant to protect them. Iryna Zarutska should have been safe. So should every woman living in vulnerable circumstances here in our community and around the world. Her life reminds us that silence costs lives, and that when systems fail, hope must rise. At Where Hope Lives, we stand with young women who have been harmed, exploited, and overlooked, believing that healing is possible and that change begins when even one heart is moved to act.”

Murals remembering Iryna Zarutska have been commissioned in cities across the United States. Each mural is uniquely designed to reflect the heart of its community while contributing to a shared national message that hope must be stronger than violence. Examples of murals across the country can be viewed at:
https://x.com/eoghan/status/1998066974451204423
https://x.com/eoghan/status/1999226959092662726
https://x.com/eoghan/status/1998432327651979473

The Phoenix mural will represent a lasting symbol of advocacy, remembrance, and commitment. It honors women whose stories deserve to be seen, believed, and protected.

Media are encouraged to attend and capture the mural as it nears completion on Saturday and Sunday, when artist Ashley Elliott, along with Where Hope Lives leadership, will be available for short interviews.

Mural Details
Painting Begins: Thursday, December 18
Wrap Up and Media Availability: Saturday and Sunday, December 20 and 21
Location: Phoenix Dream Center Campus
Visuals: 40 foot mural, live painting, interviews available

Tatum Redmond
Where Hope Lives
+1 602-881-0507
tatum@theblksheep.co
Visit us on social media:
LinkedIn
Instagram
Facebook
YouTube

Legal Disclaimer:

EIN Presswire provides this news content "as is" without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the author above.