This project will compose an original song with essential healthcare workers and youth between the ages of 10-18 in order to promote and preserve the mental and emotional health of the participants and the public. Each song will be premiered online by professional musicians as a way of promoting solidarity and hope during the COVID-19 health crisis.
Millions of Americans in quarantine during this health crisis are reporting the highest levels of stress, anxiety, and depression in years. Essential workers on the frontlines of this crisis are risking their lives and the health of their families. Young people are having trouble adjusting to homeschooling and online learning, separation from friends and family, and their world being changed drastically. The world is experiencing collective trauma and are unable to physically lean on each other.
MBM creates arts recovery programs for trauma survivors. Since we are adhering to social distancing to remain healthy and safe, virtual connections have become more important than ever. Not only will this project allow us all to connect, it will become a tool of healing and hope for those involved in creating it as well as for those who will hear it. This is our way of creating a virtual safe space for people to express what they're feeling, process it, and create the future that they imagine.
By specifically engaging essential workers and youth in and around Essex County, NJ, we will be teaching coping strategies to get them through the current crisis and mentally and emotionally prepare for the world ahead of them. If we focus on impacting 100,000 people virtually, we can directly help them reduce their trauma symptoms through a song. By reducing their levels of stress and anxiety now, we are creating a healthy community response that can be replicated through any crisis.
