Residency At The Museum - Camille Vizena

Cohort One Camille Vizena “My drive with this body of work is to capture the connection between the people and place in Lake Charles.”

Our Hands Sow the Seeds

A Vessel for the Community

I’ll Meet You...

God at Work...

Look at My Heart

Go Where I’m Needed

Tim Norris

“Our Hands Sow the Seeds” Tim Norris is a man of spirit, music, art, the earth, and the community. He connects with his community through faith and music, using song to reach the congregation of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church where he has served as the pastor for over 15 years, as well as the greater Lake Charles area through playing acoustic blues guitar at local dives. Since moving to Lake Charles, he has met people from all walks of life and watched his community grow and change.

The most startling change followed Hurricane Laura, a storm that brought on immense damage and fully destroyed his church’s sanctuary. In the face of struggle, Mr. Tim saw a need and decided something had to be done, no matter how small. So, a community garden has been planted where the sanctuary once stood, a lush green plot with rows of okra and other vegetables.

Faith the size of an okra seed is moving mountains through Mr. Tim and local volunteers, who tend the garden and share fresh produce freely with any neighbor in need. In the future Mr. Tim and the church parishioners hope to create a community center that can address the diverse needs of the people and continue to grow with resilience, much like the garden vines.

Roishetta Ozane

“A Vessel for the Community” Roishetta Ozane was inspired into action by the great need in her community after an onslaught of natural disasters including Hurricanes Laura and Delta and a winter freeze. Rather than charity, she ascribes to a theory of change through shared resources, explaining that “when you have you give, and when you need you receive- mutual aid is mutual.” With a focus on mutual aid, she made open call to anyone who needed assistance. Her passion and influence multiplied into a community-wide effort when others came together to help individuals and families with necessities like water, food, and shelter. Roishetta continues this grass roots movement today through the Vessel Project, an organization she formed to assist and advocate for the Southwest Louisiana community and beyond. In addition to holiday food and toy drives, hot meals for kids, and voter registration support, the Vessel Project is highly focused on environmental justice. Roishetta advocates for an increased understanding of how local industry affects the environment and the people living in it, with lowerincome and minority communities disproportionately affected. The Vessel Project is intersectional in its work, considering all factors that can affect a community and its ability to thrive. Roishetta is diligent and hopeful in her activism and fight for the future, empowering people to stand up for the change they deserve.

Peyton Boozer

“I’ll Meet You Where You’re At” Peyton Boozer is a harm reductionist who sees the world through a lens of radical compassion, working to dismantle the stigma surrounding substance use and advocating for people who use drugs through her role as coordinator of SWLA Do No Harm. Harm Reduction is a movement based on meeting people where they’re at with dignity and respect no matter what their risk behaviors or recovery may look like. Peyton was pulled to this work through her own lived experience and connection to the community. After losing countless friends to overdose, her grief forced her to recognize the failure of the War on Drugs and that the resources and tenets of Harm Reduction were vital to community health and survival. SWLA Do No Harm is a peer-led boots-on-the-ground outreach program focused on providing free access to life-saving supplies and support including naloxone, an overdose reversal medication. In collaborative efforts working with peers, participants, and community partnerships toward positive change on the personal level of those she serves and the structural level of her community, Peyton is a “relentless yet hopeful” voice reminding us that all people deserve safety and somewhere to belong.

Pearl Cole

“God at Work Through All People” Since the creation of Abraham’s Tent, started by the Catholic Diocese of Lake Charles in 1970, Pearl Cole has worked nonstop to oversee the essential community hub where countless people and organizations give their time and energy to make sure people have what they need. Abraham’s Tent provides hot meals, donations of clothing and hygiene supplies, other community resources, and fellowship. The operation started in a kitchen with no air conditioning and has grown into a bustling center that welcomes anyone with open arms who wishes to drop in, volunteer, or share a meal. After 25 years in the old building, Ms. Pearl’s dream of a new facility came true, but not without challenges along the way. In a struggling economy, the possibility of a new home for Abraham’s Tent seemed impossible, but she pushed forward, saying “you have to make the first step, and I knew the right people were out there who would help.” Even though the new building is named after her, Ms. Pearl emphasizes that it takes a whole community to make the work happen. The community came together to sponsor the construction then, and the community helps keep the doors open today. Many groups volunteer their time with meal preparation and serving, such as churches, missionaries, schools, businesses, families, and individuals. Ms. Pearl wants to give the community and the people within it ownership of the program- they are a part of it as a connected whole. “We all have a calling inside of us, and once our personal needs are met, you should look beyond, and say what can I do for someone else?”

Kelli Stawecki

“Look at My Heart” Kelli Stawecki is the Homeless Ministry Director at Water’s Edge Church. When she started volunteering at the church 12 years ago her perspective on unhoused individuals was very different - hers has been a journey of relearning the truth of other’s condition. Kelli values hospitality and exudes a genuine sense of warmth and humor that makes it clear to every person she meets that they are safe, loved, and wanted. She supports the formation of community by encouraging participants to volunteer and help others in kind. Since becoming involved in this work, she advocated for a food pantry and services to be expanded. At the beginning they were feeding 12 families and today they are feeding over 1200. Water’s Edge is often called on by the City of Lake Charles to function as a heating and cooling center during the most dramatic temperatures of the year. The need for a free-access overnight shelter for the Southwest Louisiana community is essential, yet we have none. Water’s Edge may not be able to provide an overnight shelter at this time, but they are stepping up and raising funds to build a facility that will provide necessary services to the community such as showers, laundry services, and mail collection. All these resources are needed for anyone living without reliable shelter to be able to work toward taking the next critical step in their lives. Kelli emphasizes that the church has an open-door policy- everyone deserves love and everyone is welcomed with open arms regardless of their circumstances.

Josh Lewis

“Go Where I’m Needed” Josh Lewis is a local small-business owner with a passion for helping his community. He goes where he sees help is needed and assists with many local organizations. Josh grew up with his family in the projects. At the age of 14 his home was closed by the City of Lake Charles and in that moment he became acutely aware of the knife’s edge of insecurity that many face and the power that the political structure has over local minority communities. This lit a fire within him and fueled his purpose to fight for change for his family and others.

His past experiences strengthen his bonds with others so that together they bring each other out of the abyss of uncertainty to create stability. “It’s important to look outside of ourselves and our circle of influence to the people that we can make a connection with, and to organize for the betterment of our whole community.” Believing that the people within the community are the ones who should decide what is best for it, he urges elected officials to be engaged with their communities. Josh has twice run for positions in local government and continually sheds light on the challenges faced by citizens of North Lake Charles like the food desert, lack of infrastructure, and lack of public transit that all complicate access to basic necessities and further education. He wants to empower people, especially younger people, to be educated and have compassion for everyone, and be able to have open discussions, regardless of differing views. He plans to continue his studies and earn a law degree that will allow him to find new roles within the community to uplift people.