My name is Monica. I’m the Programs Outreach Coordinator and Program Leader at My Voice Music and this year has been great one for MVM. Here are some of the highlights I’m especially proud of being a part of in 2015:

• Teaching an 8-day immersive Rock Band Program at Caldera Arts Camp this summer: Santigie and I facilitated twice as many beginner middle school students as usual in order to write original songs as a band and perform them at the final showcase. This was important because it showcased that our programming was just as effective and successful with even less teaching time (6 program hours vs. 10 program hours)- still leading to a captivating and rewarding performance for everyone involved!

• Bringing MVM’s songwriting and recording music program to Camp Erin for the first time ever! Camp Erin is a 3-day overnight bereavement camp for grieving youth ages 7-17 in partnership with Providence Health Centers. It was a special experience for to me to work with youth experiencing such acute loss and trauma and to give them the tools of music and songwriting to help transform their pain and emotions into beautiful, empowering art.

• Starting up a new, long-term therapeutic music and recording program with Trillium’s long-term care unit in SE Portland. This means a lot to me because its deepening our work with youth-in-crisis in lockdown treatment centers for a longer duration of time. I get the opportunity to work with the same group of youth for up to a year with this program. In partnership with Trillium, we are currently in the process of creating even more meaningful, step-by-step therapeutic curriculum that can be initiated by their staff as a supplement to our weekly programming.

• Continuing to work with Morrison Downtown Shelter at MVM Studios working with Spanish speaking immigrants in Morrison’s Refugee Settlement Program. These youth are immigrant teenagers from Central America who have just crossed the border and are waiting to be re-connected with their family in the U.S. Each session, MVM gives these immigrant teens the opportunity to play, write, and record music for the first time ever, which helps them to just have fun as well as find productive coping mechanisms for the trauma they are currently experiencing. At our group check-out last week one student said, “Music helps me forget about all my problems and worries for a little while.”

These are some of the reasons I’m very proud to work for an organization like My Voice Music. We’re continuing to expand and deepen our therapeutic work as well as bring more students into our in-house mentorship programs at MVM Studios. It’s been a great year and I look forward to seeing the work we accomplish in the next year! Thank you for supporting us and helping us reach more students and families in the community.

~ Monica Metzler, Programs Outreach Coordinator & Program Leader ~