The Flagstone Family Center in Brooklyn, NY houses hundreds of homeless families every year. The children that come into the center have experienced a range of traumas. Some have lost relatives, while others have to support their parents through addiction. Helping these young people is a challenge. However, an innovative music therapy program run by The Brooklyn Conservatory of Music is making a huge impact.

“Music makes me who I am” – Joaquin. Age 8. Current Flagstone Resident.

Every week the children at the shelter come together and learn to write, record, and produce their own songs in a collaborative environment. This is an opportunity for the children, not only to learn about music, but to come to terms with their difficulties and unite through creative emotional expression.

“When you’re displaced and when your life is chaotic, as it is when in a shelter, we look for ways in which music can provide that kind of consistency, that kind of grounding. But it’s also a chance to be heard as an individual for the first time. When you see the results, when you make that connection with a person, and you’re able to see them grow, there’s nothing like it.”

– Al Hoberman, Music Therapist at the Flagstone Family Center

Our company, Symphonized, heard about the wonderful work being done and partnered with the BKCM to help give this program a much-needed boost. Due to budgeting setbacks, the BKCM had been running this program with low quality headphones and they had been lacking some necessary equipment. This was somewhere we knew we could help and so, we donated our headphones and supporting equipment both to the music therapy program and to the children. We got to experience first-hand what an impact music therapy has been having on these children. It was truly rewarding to be able to meet them, hear about all their aspirations and learn about how important music therapy has been for them. This donation is just the first stage in our new mission: benefiting the world through the power of music. We are currently planning on partnering with similar organizations so we can continue helping others.

“The new equipment helps me, because it’s given me more ideas. And I can really use these to listen to my music!” – Shamaya. Age 10. Current Flagstone Resident 

This donation is the first stage in Symphonized’s new mission statement: to benefit the world through the power of music. It will be donating much more of its equipment in the future to similar organizations and will be continuously looking for more opportunities to help others. Watch the accompanying videos of our donation to find out more.

Check out our video documenting our experience at the Flagstone Family Center Homeless Shelter to learn more about music therapy and meet some of the wonderful children we helped!

Music Therapy Series Episodes:

Music Therapy Helps Children Out Of Homelessness:

How Music Therapy Is Helping Homeless Children:

Shamaya’s Story – Overcoming Homelessness With Music Therapy:

Stephan’s Story – How Music Therapy Is Helping Him Realize His Dreams:

Information provided by Kristen Skladd – kristenskladd@symphonized.com

Learn more about Symphonized here: Website | Facebook | Instagram

Guest Author

Sign up to receive exclusive offers, fun content, and updates from Nanea!

Your confirmation email will arrive shortly after you sign up. Don't forget to check your spam or junk folder!

We keep your data private and share your data only with third parties that make this service possible. Read our full Privacy Policy here.

Facebook Comments

comments