Warrior Music Foundation believes in the healing power of music
Courtesy of Dan Gillespie
Larry Shotter, of Smock, is pictured playing the drums. A professional musician, he is a member of the rock band Stolen Rhodes and previously played with Lovebettie. Shotter is a board member for Warrior Music Foundation, which offers music lessons and music therapy free to active duty, reserves and veterans military who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Michael Caimona is president of Warrior Music Foundation, which hopes to use music to help heal active duty, reserves and veteran military who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Warrior Music Foundation believes strongly that music can help veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder to heal.
“Music as part of military rehabilitation has been around formally since World War II,” said Michael Caimona, foundation president. “It’s accessing different parts of your brain: critical thinking, dealing with stress and it releases natural pain killers. There’s a whole host of ways it helps people with healing.”
Launched in July, Warrior Music Foundation wants to limit the impact of PTSD and reduce the number of suicides across the active duty, reserve and veteran military population through free music lessons that are tailored to their skill level in both individual and group settings. The lessons are available to veterans and military members with PTSD and their families.
While Warrior Music Foundation is based in Bowie, Maryland, near Washington, D.C., its services will be available to active duty, reserves and veterans with PTSD in this area.
The foundation’s website notes the lessons will be “facilitated by an on-staff music therapist who will ensure the instructors and students are both aligned to maximize the output of the lessons. Our therapists are a resource for the military members, veterans and their families to use as much or little as they desire.”
The website also reports, “Warrior Music Foundation is partnering with Helping Harmony Music Therapy to offer access to an on-staff music therapist who can help build an individualized therapy plan and/or refer the applicant to services at third party medical/therapy providers.”
The foundation also has local ties.
Caimona, who lives in Maryland, is a native of New Castle, also hometown of the late Chuck Tanner, who managed the Pittsburgh Pirates to their 1979 World Series championship.
A musician who plays the drums and established a custom drum company called 1710 Percussion, Caimona used music therapy to help mitigate pain from injuries he suffered in a vehicle accident at age 16.
Caimona has also been involved with the military for 20 years: 10 years active duty in the Navy and 10 years in the private sector working with the Defense department.
Larry Shotter, of Smock, who is a drummer for the rock band Stolen Rhodes and previously played with Lovebettie, is on the foundation’s board of directors.
“It’s such a great cause and something everybody can relate to,” said Shotter, a 1999 graduate of Laurel Highlands High School who also attended California University. “Everyone knows somebody who’s been affected by PTSD, whether first hand or helping somebody else.”
Shotter explained lessons are available for three months.
“We’ll prepare them to perform if they want to,” he said. “If after three months, they want to continue, we’ll find the means.”
Information shared by Caimona for a future blog explained, “PTSD statistics as they relate to the U.S. population are quite overwhelming. A 2014 study estimated that 8 percent of all Americans have PTSD. That equates to over 24 million people, approximately the population of Texas. PTSD is widespread among active duty and veterans.
“According to the Department of Veterans Affairs, 20 percent of soldiers involved in Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom experienced PTSD – this is in addition to the Gulf War and Vietnam veterans already suffering,” he continued. “Even more eye opening is the suicide rate within the military community. Most studies indicate veteran suicide rates are as high as 8,000 a year. That equates to 22 veterans committing suicide each day.”
“Our goal is to do whatever we can to reduce that,” Caimona said.
Caimona’s impetus for starting the foundation came from a 2014 speech he heard given by Admiral William McRaven, then commander of U.S. Special Operations Command. McRaven said his number-one priority was helping commandos and their families, noting the previous two years had represented the highest rate of suicides in the special operations community and that the nation was on pace to break that mark in 2014.
“This was the moment I decided that I needed to help find a solution to this problem,” Caimona said.
He referred to a 2014 report by the American Music Therapy Association called “Music Therapy and Military Populations” that explained the qualities of music in recovery. Caimona noted that “music provides sensory stimulation, emotional responses, facilitates social interaction, provides opportunities for communication, provides a diversion from inactivity and introversion and offers a measurable method to track progress in therapy.”
Locally, the foundation is hoping to have a lesson studio in Monroeville but Caimona said, “If a veteran wanted to take lessons now, we would reach out to one of our music partners even if it meant sending someone to their homes.”
The foundation also welcomes volunteers as well as those who would like to make donations.
More information on donating, volunteering and asking for help is available on the foundation’s website at www.warriormusicfoundation.org.