The nonprofit offers a free community garden and art programs, providing a safe space and community for those in need.
KILLEEN, Texas — In a corner of downtown Killeen, something beautiful is taking root.
Nonprofit Killeen Creators is transforming lives through an unlikely combination: community gardens and art studios, creating a sanctuary where healing happens one brushstroke and one planted seed at a time.
What started in 2020 as a response to food insecurity has blossomed into something much deeper—a place where people struggling with addiction, mental health issues or anything at all can find peace without judgment.
“Doing art and gardening, it’s the same thing,” said James McWilliams, who helped establish the organization with founder and friend Kelly Flading and wife Kristen Wright-McWilliams during the COVID-19 pandemic. “There’s no judge, you’re just doing and just creating.”
The idea sprouted when the north side of Killeen lost a grocery store during the pandemic, creating a noticeable food desert in an already struggling area. McWilliams saw an opportunity to address both hunger and community healing.
“Making our community gardens open and free to anyone who wanted a healthy choice can come and take what they want,” McWilliams explained.
The organization now operates three community gardens throughout Killeen, providing fresh produce like cucumbers, tomatoes and greens to anyone in need. But McWilliams quickly realized the gardens offered something beyond nutrition—they offered hope.
“The need in the area is substantial,” McWilliams said, noting how the lack of grocery stores affects what people can eat. “The lack of actual grocery stores within walking distance in pretty poor neighborhoods affects what you can eat in general.”
Unlike the grocery stores with rising prices, McWilliams points out, “our garden doesn’t have inflation.”
The art recovery studio came later, born from the founders’ own life experiences and their desire to create a safe space for healing. The studio offers everything from open studio time to upcycle art classes.
“Creating—you’re creating your own path, creating your own life, creating your own recovery, your own healing,” McWilliams said, explaining how the organization got its name.
For McWilliams, everyone is a creator at their core, and creativity is powerful medicine.
“You get control over your life when you create,” he said. “You can get control over what you’re doing even if it seems like it’s chaos.”
Tess Griffin discovered this truth firsthand. Initially reluctant to visit because she didn’t consider herself an artist, she was drawn in by the welcoming atmosphere.
“I thought, wow, we’re all artists, some of us just don’t know it yet,” Griffin said.
Griffin found that the studio provides what she calls a “third space”—somewhere beyond home or work where people can simply exist and create.
“Even if you already have your own art project and you don’t necessarily want to join a class, bring your own stuff and just sit,” Griffin, how is now a board chair, said. “And you’ll meet other people who have something in common with you because we’re all just creators.”
The impact goes far beyond creative expression. McWilliams has witnessed profound transformations in people who visit the gardens and studio.
“I’ve seen people transform because it gives them hope sometimes, peace,” he said. “We deal a lot with the homeless population. We deal a lot with people who are suffering from some pretty substantial mental health issues, and through the gardens you can always find peace. There’s no—they don’t argue with you, they don’t judge you, they just sustain you.”
Griffin echoes this sentiment, explaining how art provides crucial mental health benefits.
“It gives you something to think about besides the things you’re troubled by, whether it’s an addiction or past trauma,” Griffin said. “You have something else to focus on for a little while.”
The organization faced a scare last year when federal funding cuts threatened their AmeriCorps volunteers, who help run many of the programs.
“We were not sure if we’re gonna keep any AmeriCorps, which would have—we would have to retract a lot of what we do,” McWilliams said. While they managed to retain their service members for now, uncertainty looms over funding for 2026 and beyond.
Despite the challenges, McWilliams remains focused on the mission. The organization is hoping to launch a mobile agriculture and art program to take education on the road, reaching even more people who need healing and hope.
Miriam Manifest, one of the newest AmeriCorps service members working with the organization, was initially a patron before joining the team.
“It just became a safe place for my daughter and I to come,” Manifest said. “It’s just enlightening to know how much this place does for the community.”
At its heart, Killeen Creators represents something essential– a community.
“I think that having the gardens, having that sense of community through art, through a clubhouse like this, really allows people to stay healthy and find their path, whatever it is,” McWilliams said.
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