Formerly homeless woman dedicates art to homeless

Cascade Park — Artist Heidi Hansen is trying to raise the profile of homelessness. On Monday, she and Craig Lyons, director of the Council for the Homeless, presented Vancouver’s mayor and city council with an original Hansen painting with the dedication: “When we reach our darkest moments, we can choose to act out our despair, or, do something extraordinary.” She is holding an art show of 28 paintings to benefit Winter Hospitality Overflow, a winter-spillover shelter partnership between local churches and the Council for the Homeless. The show is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church, 12513 SE Mill Plain Blvd. Hansen, who is formerly homeless, is a survivor of domestic violence and mental illness who received services from Open House Ministries and Share, Inc.