Hannah Kulis

MusiCares' Vice President of Health & Human Services Debbie Carroll Bids Adieu After 23 Years Of Service: Q&A

One of MusiCares' most instrumental leaders, Debbie Carroll has helped the organization grow to one of the music industry's most impactful nonprofits. To honor her 23 years of helping music people in need, Carroll reflects on her legacy in 23 questions.

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MusiCares’ Debbie Carroll Reflects On Her Legacy

MusiCares' Vice President of Health & Human Services Debbie Carroll Bids Adieu After 23 Years Of Service: Why She Feels She 'Won The Life Lottery' Working For The Organization

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Music Community, Our Promise To You: How MusiCares Will Continue To Help The Humans Behind Music

A message from MusiCares Vice President of Health &amp; Human Services, Debbie Carroll, on MusiCares' commitment to the music community

Last week was a big week for music. We had so much to celebrate including the 63rd GRAMMY Awards and MusiCares' first virtual GRAMMY Week fundraiser, <a href="https://www.grammy.com/musicares/news/musicares-music-mission-2021-grammy-week-john-legend-her-bts-lady-gaga">Music On A Mission</a>. For MusiCares' special night, upwards of 17,000 people bought tickets, with over 850,000 supporter page views and counting. MusiCares raised $2.1 million dollars to help those in need in the music community.&nbsp;

While we are very proud of those numbers, the real win for MusiCares is that the success of the fundraiser will further our mission: helping the humans behind music. Music professionals give so much to the world, and Music on a Mission was a tribute to those individuals. Every dollar raised that night will go directly to supporting them.

This year, that support is needed more than ever. Whether you're an artist whose tour was canceled, a furloughed concert venue worker, a gigging musician with nowhere to play, or one of the many other members of our beloved music community who has been devastated by this pandemic, we want you to know that MusiCares is here for you.

Here is our promise.

<h2>Continued financial support for music people struggling as a result of loss of work due to COVID-19</h2>

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began last March, MusiCares has distributed $24 million to 30,000 music people and their families in need. But the need continues. The pandemic is not over, and MusiCares is here to support the music community until every show is rebooked, every tour is rerouted, and every venue is reopened. If you are out of work, financial support for day-to-day expenses like rent, utility bills, car payments, and insurance premiums is available to you.

<h2>Expanded and newly developed programming based upon the expressed needs of the music community</h2>

In 2020, MusiCares launched its inaugural <a href="https://www.grammy.com/musicares/news/letter-laura-segura-executive-director-musicares">“Wellness in Music” survey</a>, designed to assess the music community's health and wellness. The survey will be an annual initiative used to gauge the most pressing issues for the music community as well as understand new and emerging concerns, all with the goal of shaping our programs and services to best fit the needs of the music community.&nbsp;

This year has demonstrated just how quickly the state of the industry can change, and in order to best serve the industry, it is crucial we listen to community we are serving and are responsive to their needs. Mental health, addiction, financial security and access to affordable health care are of top priority for us moving forward.&nbsp;

Read More: <a href="https://www.grammy.com/musicares/news/letter-laura-segura-executive-director-musicares">MusiCares Shares "Wellness In Music" Study Results</a>

<h2>Expanding access to healthcare for those in the music community who cannot afford it</h2>

Another finding revealed in our "Wellness In Music" survey was that 19 percent of survey respondents stated they did not have health insurance, compared to 8 percent of the general population. Of those, 64 percent noted the reason was that they could not afford it.&nbsp;

MusiCares believes everyone should have access to healthcare, and we are committed to expanding opportunities and access to those who cannot afford it. Through our health services, music people can receive financial assistance for medical bills, health insurance premiums, dental procedures and more. In addition, MusiCares offers a variety of annual free preventative health services including medical, dental, and hearing clinics, vocal health workshops, and assistance obtaining low-cost health insurance.&nbsp;

<h2>Ensuring mental health treatment and addiction recovery support is readily accessible</h2>

Mental health and addiction treatment can be costly and difficult to obtain. When faced with a mental health crisis, many don't know where to turn, and <a href="https://www.webmd.com/connect-to-care/addiction-treatment-recovery/alcohol/how-much-does-alcohol-rehab-really-cost">the average cost of rehab in the United States ranges from $5,000 to $80,000</a>. Our "Wellness In Music" survey found that while 34.9 percent of our respondents sought counseling for their mental health struggles, 53.5 percent of those respondents were unable to obtain counseling because they could not afford it. Through our mental health and addiction services, music people in need of addiction treatment can be placed in treatment within a matter of hours. Funding is also available for outpatient services, sober living, intensive outpatient care and more. MusiCares also provides financial support and referrals for mental health services including psychiatric care, counseling services and inpatient care. &nbsp;

In addition, <a href="https://www.grammy.com/events?field_pillar_tid%5B%5D=4">MusiCares hosts</a> five virtual recovery support groups each week, offering a safe environment in which attendees can discuss the challenges of staying clean and sober in the music industry. We also have two weekly emotional support groups, in partnership with our friends at ASCAP, meant for anyone feeling depressed, anxious or simply concerned about any aspect of their lives. These groups offer a private means of gaining support while surrounded by like-minded individuals. Plans are underway to add two additional emotional support groups within the next few weeks.&nbsp;

<h2>Increasing our reach, especially to populations who are underserved</h2>

MusiCares is here for all members of the music industry, and we want our client base to accurately reflect the diversity of the music community. We have identified populations that are underserved by MusiCares, and we want to earn those communities' trust of knowing we are here for them, too.&nbsp;

This past month, we have hosted a number of programs specifically for our underserved populations including virtual women's health screenings, a panel celebrating and supporting Latinx women in the music industry, and a discussion on mental health and addiction in the Black community. We will continue to improve and expand upon these outreach efforts and have committed to doubling our outreach to underserved populations over the course of this year.&nbsp;

<h2>Broadening our provider network and innovating our services to suit the needs of a changing music industry</h2>

MusiCares has an amazing network of rehabilitation centers, dentists, attorneys, relief organizations, therapists, and medical providers who help support the work we do and offer reduced rates or additional relief support to our clients. This enables us to maximize each charitable dollar donated to our cause.

As we continue to increase our reach, we plan to widen this network, too. Our commitment is to have a viable option for each and every client who contacts us, regardless of their circumstance or need.&nbsp;

Thank you for the support of MusiCares this past GRAMMY season—we now return that support back to those in need. Our promise is that we will continue to work tirelessly to support the music community—through the pandemic and beyond. As long as there are unmet needs within our music family, MusiCares will be there.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.grammy.com/musicares/news/musicares-music-mission-2021-grammy-week-john-legend-her-bts-lady-gaga">How MusiCares' Music On A Mission Honored The Resilience Of The Music Community</a>

How MusiCares Keeps Supporting The Music Community

MoaM Recap - Our Promise to You

MusiCares- Music On A Mission: Our Promise to You

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Bruce Britt

Musicians in recovery can find Safe Harbor at music festivals

As trumpeter for the GRAMMY-winning Latin rock band Ozomatli, Asdru Sierra makes his bread and butter performing live, especially during the lucrative festival season. But as a recovering alcoholic, those same music festivals pose a potential threat to Sierra's eight years of sobriety due to the abundance of alcohol and other substances that are readily available at weekend-long concert marathons such as Coachella, Stagecoach and Outside Lands.

"When everybody's drinking and having fun … honestly, if [alcohol is] there in front of you, it's hard not to do it," says Sierra. "No matter how many days or years sober you've got, sometimes you're just having a bad frickin' day."

<a href="https://www.grammy.com/node/151962" target="_self">Coachella: How many GRAMMY winners have headlined?</a>

In response to the dilemma faced by recovering musicians and touring professionals such as Sierra, in 1997 <a href="https://www.grammy.org/musicares" target="_blank">MusiCares</a> conceived a first-of-its-kind initiative called the <a href="https://www.grammy.org/musicares/recovery/programs" target="_blank">Safe Harbor Room</a> program. The concept entails creating "safe harbor" areas at events where music professionals who are in recovery can meet to grab a bite, shoot the breeze and even conduct 12-step support meetings.

"It's a place where people in recovery can stay a couple of minutes, or all afternoon — whatever they'd like to do," says MusiCares Senior Executive Director Debbie Carroll.

<blockquote>
<h4 class="align-center">"It's like, 'Hey man, cool! You're part of this club? How long?' It's good to know that you're not alone."&nbsp;—&nbsp;Asdru Sierra on MusiCares' Safe Harbor Rooms</h4>
</blockquote>

This year, the Safe Harbor Room program turns 20 — marking a full two decades of helping musicians in recovery since the first room was introduced backstage at the <a href="/awards/39th-annual-grammy-awards">39th Annual GRAMMY Awards</a> telecast.

Sponsored in part by the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bohemianfoundation.org/" target="_blank">Bohemian Foundation</a>, MusiCares Safe Harbor Room support is available at most major music festivals nationwide, as well as select entertainment industry events. Already in 2017, Safe Harbor Rooms have been implemented at the winter NAMM show, South by Southwest, the Country Music Association Awards, not to mention the 59th GRAMMY Awards and the 2017 MusiCares Person of the Year gala. Rooms will be available at many upcoming major music festivals as well, including Coachella, Stagecoach Festival, Sasquatch! Music Festival, Electric Daisy Carnival, FYF Fest, and Riot Fest.

<a href="/node/226186">Watch Tom Petty's full MusiCares Person of the Year speech</a>

For artists and music professionals in recovery, a Safe Harbor Room at a huge event such as Coachella is a godsend.

"I love the people that go there — the musicians, the people who work with MusiCares," says Sierra, who played Coachella in 2007 and 2011 with Ozomatli. "It's like, 'Hey man, cool! You're part of this club? How long?' It's good to know that you're not alone."

Letting industry professionals know they're not alone on the road to maintaining their sobriety is precisely the point of the Safe Harbor Room program. In conjunction with MusiCares' mission of providing a safety net for music people in times of need, every Safe Harbor Room is attended by a qualified addiction recovery staff member. For an extra layer of reinforcement, MusiCares solicits the participation of licensed counselors along with volunteers with longstanding relationships in recovery.

"We've been doing this for so long that people know and expect that we're going to be there," says Carroll, a licensed clinical social worker with 30 years of experience in the addiction and mental health fields.

"People want to feel like, 'Hey, there are other people back here who know what recovery is all about,' or 'I could really use a 12-step meeting, so let me come back and check out the Safe Harbor Room for an hour, then go back and do what I've gotta do.' If somebody's at risk, they should reach out to us, because we're there to get them the support they need."

Whether it's a headlining concert, an awards show or a multiday festival, many events place artists in a freewheeling environment where well-meaning fans can be fawning and overly accommodating. According to <a href="https://milesadcox.com/" target="_blank">Miles Adcox</a>, CEO of Nashville, Tenn.-based therapy center and retreat <a href="https://www.onsiteworkshops.com/" target="_blank">Onsite Workshops</a>, live events can impel artists to be "edgy," adopting devil-may-care attitudes that can result in overindulgence in alcohol and substances.

"Public professions produce abnormal circumstances, and abnormal circumstances produce high levels of stress, anxiety, loneliness and depression," says Adcox, who has volunteered at several Safe Harbor Rooms. "Put all that at a festival with alcohol and recreational drugs, then it's like a pressure cooker.

"To create a space where you can get respite and colleague support in the midst of one of the most stressful environments possible is just great. It's not always someone walking in there because their wheels are falling off, though that certainly has happened. A lot of times they just need to connect with the part of themselves that desires to be balanced and connected to who they are, so they can create. They need a room where nobody's pulling on them, where nobody in the room is getting a percentage. A Safe Harbor Room doesn't require anything from them. It just requires them to show up."

Aside from helping take the edge off live events, Safe Harbor Room support can also ease an addict's entry into the uncertain new world of temperance. For those in recovery, the decision to go sober can be made more daunting by fears that abstinence might compromise longstanding relationships.

<a href="/node/228756">U2's Adam Clayton to be honored by MusiCares MAP Fund</a>

"For the newly sober person, the challenge is finding your way back into the mainstream —doing things for the first time in a long time without using drugs and alcohol," says Steve, a 63-year old recovering addict who requested we not publish his surname or profession. "Because we tend to find like-minded people, it's typical that you're surrounding yourself with other people that are likewise using."

Currently 27 years sober, Steve says it's comforting just knowing that Safe Harbor Rooms exist.&nbsp;

"When a sober person walks into the Safe Harbor Room, they know the people there have been through what they've been through, or what they are going through now, and they can talk about those things. If they're struggling today, they can talk about the struggle. It is a real sense of community."

<blockquote>
<h4>"If somebody's at risk, they should reach out to us, because we're there to get them the support they need."&nbsp;— MusiCares' Debbie Carroll</h4>
</blockquote>

For Ozomatli's Sierra, the MusiCares Safe Harbor Room program has even provided opportunities for discussion with his teenaged son and daughter, both fans of the pioneering ska-punk band Sublime, whose frontman Bradley Nowell struggled with addiction before his tragic death in 1996. As budding entertainers contemplating following their dad into music, Sierra says his kids appreciate the value of the Safe Harbor Room program.

"My kids asked me, 'Dad, what would it have been like if Brad Nowell had had this?" Sierra recalls. "I can only imagine what it would be like if Kurt Cobain was alive today and they had something like [Safe Harbor Rooms]. We've buried enough people to know how much this is needed."

(Bruce Britt is an award-winning freelance writer whose work has appeared in&nbsp;The Washington Post,&nbsp;USA Today,&nbsp;Detroit Free Press,&nbsp;San Francisco Chronicle, and other distinguished publications. He lives in Los Angeles.)

<a href="https://www.grammy.org/files/pages/mc_csr_2015.pdf" target="_blank">MusiCares for Music People: Learn why MusiCares is a 4-star-rated charity</a>

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