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Bridge The Gap: Niam Jain and Peel Regional Police

The Community Project – Bridge The Gap is a collaboration between Peel Regional Police and external community partners to bring awareness to Autism. Niam had the honour of being chosen as the artist to paint a mural on the side of the Trueman Street Pedestrian Bridge. His extraordinary talent as an artist, alongside his presence in the autism community made him the perfect person for this special project.

 

Preparation for the mural began in early September 2024. Niam made his way to Home Depot where he purchased paints of various colours and tools to aid him in his new adventure. In early October, Niam began his painting on the bridge and everyone watched patiently as the mural unfolded before their eyes. Niam was challenged to face his fear of heights while using scaffolding for the first time and overcome challenges he never had to face before. This project gave Niam a chance to improve his gross and fine motor skills, proving not only to himself but those around him that people on the spectrum are capable of completing great challenges.

The date of the unveiling for the mural was set for Tuesday October 15^th, 2024 and everyone in attendance was excited to see what Niam had created. Some notable attendees were Sumeeta Kohli Board Member of Police Service Board, Deputy Chief Mark Dapat, Constable Mandeep Sahdev, Peel Regional Police, Seva Food Bank, Marg Spoelstra Executive Director of Autism Ontario amongst many others.

The community stakeholders placed their trust in Niam to execute a mural that would bring awareness to the autism community. Niam being quasi-nonverbal was not able to express his vision as other artists may have been able to, the only person who knew what the mural was going to look like was Niam and without a proposal or a written description the community stakeholders believed in Niam to bring the vision to life and he did not disappoint.

The unveiling not only portrayed Niam’s mesmerizing work but also stands as a reminder that people with autism are capable of extraordinary accomplishments. There are no barriers they cannot overcome, no challenges they cannot face and no murals they cannot paint.

Niam’s mural can be seen on the Trueman Street Pedestrian Bridge alongside a plaque in Naim’s name.