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Music therapy lifting spirits at Haymarket
It’s amazing what the power of music can do, even when you’re at your lowest.
A buzz fills the air of Sydney’s Haymarket Foundation as the sound of raucous drums and thrashing guitar spills out into the courtyard. In a word? It sounds like fun.
The musicians? Residents of the Foundation’s homelessness service taking part in a music therapy session. Around the Foundation, the music has everyone in a good mood.
The scrappy drum beats and rock star guitar chords have a therapeutic energy to them – every note feels like a visceral release.
And it’s more than just a distraction from the challenges of homelessness. According to recent research, music therapy can be life changing:
“…music engagement not only shapes our personal and cultural identities but also plays a role in mood regulation. A 2022 review and meta-analysis of music therapy found an overall beneficial effect on stress-related outcomes. Moreover, music can be used to help in addressing serious mental health and substance use disorders” – Psychiatry.org
The Haymarket Foundation knows this well. The Foundation’s weekly music therapy sessions are part of the organisation’s holistic approach to homelessness – not just treating “problems” but treating residents as whole people, who are creative, expressive, talented and deserving of outlets for that energy.
“We specialise in complex homelessness” says Gowan Vyse, CEO of the Haymarket Foundation.
“Unfortunately, what often gets lost is that we’re all complex people with different needs. It’s not enough to just provide people with shelter or food alone. When you’re experiencing homelessness, you’re also often experiencing family violence, addiction, mental and physical health problems. Within that complexity, sometimes picking up an instrument, or getting your hands dirty in the garden is what gives you hope for the next day.”
Ultimately, that’s what the music bouncing around the courtyard of the Haymarket Foundation is – music of hope. A chance for people experiencing complex homelessness to be treated as and express the complex, creative and talented people they are.
You can support The Haymarket Foundation’s mission to help people experiencing complex homelessness by making a regular donation.