Challenge America

After completing a very successful pilot music therapy program with the va, we received a 1 year contract (with the va) to conduct 13 retreats in 8 different rural areas, by the end of september 2023. Each retreat enrolls 10 veterans with ptsd and/or mst. Through our partnership with guitar center foundation, Challenge America provides each participant with a free guitar, accessories and materials. All retreat content is designed from a trauma-informed music therapy approach. Veterans connect through a group format with the ca music therapist and a 1:1 format with a ca professional songwriter. Veterans co-write a song of their choice, which is then performed by the songwriter (or the veteran) during a virtual concert that friends and family are invited to attend. Over the course of 24 weeks, each veteran participant will receive 32 hours of virtual real-time sessions. We have also had great success in growing our 2 online veteran platforms: military sisterhood initiative (msi) and Challenge America veterans art community (cavarts). Msi has over 5,000 members and cavarts has close to 6,000 members. These communities provide a safe place for veterans to share information, be creative and collaborate on goals and concerns. In addition to these programs, last september we led 5 veterans and many volunteers up mt. Elbert (the highest 14er summit of the rocky mountains) for our Challenge America mt. Elbert Challenge. This was an amazing accomplishment for our 5 veterans who suffer from crps, ptsd and/or mst, just to name a few. We are very proud of what Challenge America has accomplished this past year and we are working hard to continue this amazing work for our veterans and their families.