By Mary Niederberger, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

Sitting in the waiting room of juvenile court can be a lonely, frightening experience. Facing the judge in the adjacent courtroom can be even more intimidating.

A group of teens who have gone through that experience and wanted to ease the way for others have created murals for the walls of the waiting room and courtroom of the county's juvenile court regional center on Fifth Avenue in McKeesport.

The teens are residents of the Auberle Home in McKeesport, which houses juvenile offenders or youths taken from their families because of abuse or abandonment.

They spent 32 hours over several weeks under the direction of Mt. Lebanon artist Laurie Marshall designing and painting two 4-by-8-foot murals that were hung in the waiting room and courtroom last week.

An unveiling ceremony that included the teens and court and Auberle officials was held Thursday.

The idea for the murals came from one of the Auberle Home's volunteer grandmothers who was in the courtroom one day and felt the bare walls were depressing, said Auberle psychologist Steve Mosovsky. He hired Marshall to direct the project.

Eight boys made the painting for the waiting room. They based their design on what they felt and experienced as they sat in a court waiting room. The words "sad," "angry," "alone" and "lost" are painted in circles in a line that leads to a large circle that holds the word "hope."

The hope is based on the wish that the judge in the next room will reunite them with their families. It's appropriate for the McKeesport courtroom where hearings are held only on dependency cases, not delinquency cases.

"Those are everyone's words," said James, 15, one of the eight boys who worked on the project. Auberle officials would not allow the teens' last names to be used.

An inscription at the bottom of the boys' painting reads: "For the children in the courts, from the children in the courts." Next to the inscription it says "Auberle 2003."

James said it didn't take the boys long to agree on a theme and to get to work. But the girls had a series of discussions and negotiations between themselves and court officials before their theme of protection was agreed upon and designed.

Tamara, 15, and Kristen and Meghan, both 17, were among the 12 girls from Auberle who worked on the project.

They said they learned a lot about sharing feelings, getting along together in a group and respecting each other's opinions, and that the project brought them closer to each other.

The girls' mural, which is meant to provide a protective feeling to the juveniles in the courtroom, includes large figures of a woman and man who have birds sitting on their shoulders with their wings outspread. At first glance, the figures resemble angels, which was the original intent of the girls. But court officials told them no religious messages could be portrayed.

The inscription on the girls' mural is a quote from the late Fred Rogers: "Anyone who does anything to help a child in this life is a hero to me."

Tamara said she believes other juveniles who look at the murals will understand the messages and will take comfort in them. "I know how they will feel because I have been in and out of the courtroom since I was an infant. I've been through the system so many times. It makes me sad," she said.

Meghan said she hopes when children in the courtroom look at the mural they will feel they have a lot of good in them and that someone is here who cares about them.

Kristen said the girls and boys chose to use bright colors to make the murals appear hopeful and uplifting.

Juvenile Court Master James Alter, the hearing officer at the McKeesport courtroom, said the murals got a lot of attention Thursday, the first day they appeared. If they make the kids feel better about their court experience, then they are long overdue, Alter said.

Juvenile Court Administrator James Rieland said he would like to see murals created for the other regional juvenile courtrooms on the South Side, the North Side and East Liberty and at the main headquarters Downtown.

He's hoping some corporate funding may become available for the projects. Funding for the McKeesport project was shared by juvenile court, which provided $1,500 and the Auberle home, which gave $1,000.

Mosovsky said despite the dollar amount, the results are priceless. "When you talk about self-esteem, that is not something that you give somebody. It's something that you earn," he said. "These kids really got a lot of satisfaction and self-esteem from that project."