Music Creates a Culture of Safety
When bad things happen, where do you go? Who do you turn to? Where is your safe place to process anger, fear or frustrations?
Most people find safety in their homes. Home is where we can cry in the privacy of our own rooms. Home is where we can yell in frustration at people who we know will love us enough to forgive and understand.
The teens living at Plummer Youth Promise have never had that kind of safe place. They’ve generally spent year after year moving from one foster placement to the next, never finding emotional safety.
A few years ago, a 16 year old resident at Plummer wrote lyrics to a song about what “home” meant to him:
You wake up in the safest place
You know each smell and sound
And every path your life may take
Leads to this solid ground
Called HOME
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The music rooms at Plummer Youth Promise and On Point have become safe places for many Plummer kids.
“Being in the music room gives me a voice” says Connor, a resident at Plummer, “It gives me expression. This is a judgment-free zone, you can do whatever you want and no one’s going to make fun of you.”
But safe places aren’t always easy. “Having a safe place to express emotions can sometimes be difficult” says music therapist and performing artist Sarah Blacker “but moving past that pain to a place [where you can] express those feelings is important. Music provides an outlet to communicate our personal experiences so that we can feel connected to other people.”
A keyboard in the corner. A set of drums. A guitar. The music rooms at Plummer Youth Promise and On Point may not look like much, but they are so much more. They are the safest place that some of these kids have ever known. They are places for healing. They are judgment-free. They bring relief.
“When I come in here, I don’t have to worry about all my other problems” says Plummer resident Justin, “I get a huge burden off my chest. I feel like I can take my frustrations out on the drums…It’s my own way of therapy. I feel comfortable. I don’t feel trapped or under pressure.”
“I come into the music room because it has a really good vibe and just makes you feel happy.” says Plummer resident Ben,” It’s like when you walk in the door, all depression and anger is gone and you just basically have fun.”
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Where is your safest place? A place where you can experience the joy of letting go and just being you. Your home. Our home. Their home. The Plummer Youth Promise and On Point music rooms.
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