Will Rivas has always believed in being part of change in the community. As someone who grew up in Schenectady’s Hamilton Hill neighborhood and continues to work there, he knows how little changes can make a big difference.

“Growing up, I didn’t always think we had that opportunity. I was specifically told that we didn’t,” said Rivas, who wears multiple hats, including executive director of the C.O.C.O.A. House.

He has always taken it upon himself to create that opportunity in the community, anything to inspire those who live here. Lately, that inspiration takes the form of banners along the Craig Street Bridge.

“What a lot of people don’t realize is these are kids that are actually in our program that she put on this mural,” said Rivas, who’s been leading the Common Unity Banners Project.

Over the summer, seven community organizations and seven local artists partnered to create seven banners to be placed on the bridge. Funded by the Schenectady Foundation, the murals on the Hamilton Hill-Mont Pleasant connector mark the first phase of the Craig-Main Connection Project.

“You see it says ‘Still I Rise.’ That was a shared theme among the boys, among the girls of this generation,” said Johan Matthews, a team member of the Common Unity Banners Project.

He says it serves to inspire the children who walk here with murals on one side, but also to inform parents of the organizations and resources available to them with banners on the opposite side.

“We wanted to create a counterbalance to the threatening sense of the traffic below that zooming by creates,” said Matthews, referring to I-890 below the bridge. “We wanted them to be distracted and engaged and protected by the passage way.”

On top of it all, they say this allows community members to flex their artistic skills and creativity, while also giving them a hand in directly revitalizing their neighborhood and city.

“Our communities are not broken. They’re strong, they’re resilient and they’re very creative,” Rivas said. “So we’re here. We’re not just looking for a seat at the table.”