THE ROAD TO RECOVERY FROM GUN VIOLENCE

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Like most of our community after the shooting at MSD, Sawyer and Andrea were unsure how to process this traumatic event. Parents, like myself, were unsure what to do to help our children. As a community, we were all mostly just trying to hang on to each other and get through each day. There was no baseline for anyone in our community to refer to that would help. In this swirling cauldron of thought and emotion, it was almost impossible to see a way through to the other side of this tragedy.

At that moment Sawyer and Andrea had a thought, take what they were feeling, what they wanted to say about this event, and turn it into a song. They wrote a song titled “Shine.” It was intended as only a personal cathartic exercise. After sharing the song with their drama teacher, it would be the start of something much bigger than they could have ever imagined. A week after the shooting the two friends found themselves unexpectedly on national television singing Shine. They were unaware of the response they would get from the community and the nation.

Since then their primary mission has been giving back to their community, what Shine has given them, a way to heal. Not only do they strive to help their community, but also to help any community exposed to gun violence by using the power of art. They also seek to keep the conversation of solving the gun violence problem in our country on the main stage. PERFORMANCES The song has enabled them to raise money to help others. They have poured everything they have into these efforts over the last year. Performances have taken them to Washington D.C., New York City, Los Angeles, Park City, and many more places but they always return home to their MSD high school community.

The performance audiences have ranged from important political figures, entertainment industry heads, world-renowned musicians, Broadway stars and most importantly their fellow students and the MSD community. They recently performed in Fort Lauderdale with the Boston Pops to a fully orchestrated version of Shine. At each of these performances, they raise money for their nonprofit and raise awareness of the epidemic that is gun violence in America. As survivors, who refuse to be ignored, they get to bring the message of hope and a call to action that is in the song Shine.

At each of their performances, the most responsive refrain from the song is “We’re tired of hearing that we’re too young to ever make a change.” These performances allow Sawyer and Andrea to encourage young people everywhere to find their voice and use it. CAMP SHINE All of these performances, all of the money they have raised, and even their own money, from royalties and appearance fees, have all gone towards starting Camp Shine. Their non-profit offers the camp to MSD Students and surrounding schools to attend for free. In the first summer, there were approximately 100 campers in attendance at the camp. Sawyer and Andrea are so grateful that their hard work has secured enough funding to keep the camp running for multiple summers in the future. Camp Shine is a groundbreaking innovative summer program designed and run by leading national creative arts therapists. It was developed specifically for the MSD Students and the Parkland community but created to help all those who have experienced trauma in some way.

It has helped their fellow Stoneman Douglas students turn their pain and trauma into beautiful art and music. Many of the students who attended were very hesitant in the beginning. Toward the end of the sessions, they were writing full songs and creating beautiful murals. Year two of Camp Shine will be starting in June 2019. Their goal was to have this program continue not only in their community but in other communities that have experienced gun violence as well. They want to develop a map to recovery that will help trauma victims with the powers of art and music. The camp structure and programs have been made into a manual that will be shared with other communities that may want to use the Camp Shine method. COMMUNITY ACTIVISM In addition, Sawyer and Andrea have led community efforts to give other students a platform to raise their voice.

They host open mic nights in their community where they encourage students to perform original works or works that resonate with them regarding dealing with trauma. Sawyer and Andrea were an integral part of a songwriting initiative involving nearly forty students from their school, led by the inspiring Peter Yarrow. Over a two-day songwriting session, they were able to help create 11 new songs that speak to the issue of gun violence in this country.