Program Description

A 6-8 week music-driven therapeutic program, originally designed to serve the parents of adult children with substance use disorder, though we serve anyone who is struggling.  

Created by musician & parent, Cheryl Cawood & Team in collaboration with: James Johnson, MA / Music Therapy  

Program Overview: Hope Loves Harmony (HLH) is a 1+ hour group music-engagement session, conducted in collaboration with clinical addiction/recovery professionals, held once/week for 6-8 weeks.  HLH’s goal is to help participants share and document their own stories through songwriting, poetry, and musical exchange to facilitate healing and begin to reclaim the self confidence they need to sustain a sense of normalcy on the home front and to help rebuild their lives and the lives of those they love. Longer term, HLH provides a pathway for participants to use their new found voices as advocates against the opioid crisis.  

Participants will be guided through the process of creating music and sharing with the eventual goal of developing their own healing song, poem or creating a group mantra. Surveys administered pre/post.

HLH TEAM BIOS:

CHERYL CAWOOD: CLINICAL LAB SCIENTIST / ARTIST / SONGWRITER / MUSICIAN / Host & member of the Houston Songwriters Association / Co-host of Old Quarter Songwriter Group / Nashville Songwriters Association International (NSAI)member.  

My family and I endured 13 years of grief while 2 of my 3 adult daughters succumbed to  substance use disorder. This left myself and 1 daughter to care for a few grandchildren and to try and hold things together..  I’m happy to announce that both girls have been clean for 10+ years! They have started their lives over and are living life to the fullest. My youngest daughter worked at Northern Kentucky University as a counselor helping addicted parents. She is currently passionately involved with the addiction community. I couldn’t be happier. Surviving this horrendous ordeal has inspired me to give back.  I am now a HOPE Dealer!

MARSHA HUNT: COTA-R, BSHS, Certified Gerontologist, and Service Coordinator for HUD housing. Born in the Appalachian Mountains of SouthEastern, Ky and raised in Southwest, Ohio I grew up with live music in our home from 3 days old. I remember my mom at the stove making homemade biscuits and gravy singing with my dad while he sat at the kitchen table playing his Martin. I grew up on many genres of music. From Bluegrass & country to Joplin to Hendrix & Zepplin to Billie Holiday and Johnny Cash.  I can’t sing or play. But I always danced. My career calling was Occupation Therapy. I started working in Acute care Psychiatry and chemical dependency with adults at Emerson A North Hospital. I developed a geriatric psych program at Franciscan Hospital eventually landing in skilled nursing facilities specializing in geriatrics as a rehab Therapist and Director Of Rehabilitation. I worked in nursing homes for more than two decades before I retired. I decided to go back to school earning a degree in health science at NKU in 2022. Last year I went to University of Cincinnati earning my Certification in Gerontology. I am a health educator with a focus on aging in place, I’m currently working as a Service Coordinator for HUD housing. I’m also the Event Coordinator for The Village Theater in Main Strauss where we have put on a host of Benefit shows thanks to our many  Cincy musicians & Mike Reeder. Outreach is my heart. So is the hurt of watching those we love suffer in addiction.  After reaching out to Cheryl to offer my knowledge and services I am sincerely grateful that she chose me to be the Executive Director and Chair for Hope Loves Harmony. We are going to be a force of addiction awareness, music is healing, & community connections. Watch us grow. Our voices are strong and our mission is advocacy.  #HopeLovesHarmony                    

PEGGY CAWOOD BRINKER: Administrative Office Manager/ lYRICIST Being a part of Hope Loves Harmony is so important to me because I have a personal connection to drug addiction and want to make a difference in the lives of others who share the same struggle.  I am a mother and grandmother.  My oldest child is a recovering addict with over 5 years clean. My son struggled with addiction for many years but when it really got out of control he started stealing and deceiving everyone in his path. He spent some time in jail and was then sentenced to a court appointed rehabilitation program.  The transformation took some time but he beat it.  That demon no longer controls his life.  Today, he is a family man with children, a fiance and is a general manager in the restaurant business. I am sure you can imagine the pride and gratitude I feel.   I also have a child who is currently homeless on the streets of Cincinnati and is very active in drug use.  Everyday is a struggle for him and for our family.  I know from experience that this horrible battle over substance use disorder can be overcome.  I am grateful for every good day and rely on God to get us through our tough ones.  It took me a few years of keeping this family nightmare a secret because I felt guilt.  I felt maybe it was my fault somehow. I wanted everyone to see my children as the fine young men they were prior to the drug use. Who wants to be that parent with the drug addicted child right?  Well, I am that parent and I found that sharing my experience with others has been very therapeutic.  Music is a way to the soul and I believe it will make a difference for families who didn’t choose this life but can hold on to hope that they can get through it.  God bless! 

PAMELA MAINE JOHNSON: Social Worker/Licensed Therapist in Huntsville, Texas. Received her Master of Social Work from the University of Houston in 1996.  She has a private psychotherapy practice in Huntsville, TX since 2009.  She has worked with children and families, the MHMR crisis team, and Huntsville Memorial Hospital’s Outpatient Counseling Program.  She is a clinical supervisor and field instructor for SHSU and UH.  Pam has been an adjunct faculty at SHSU, and has taught dozens of CEU workshops at UH, MCYS, HMH, and in private practice.

JAMES JOHNSON: Certified Music Therapist. James completed his B.S. in Secondary Education and Music Education at North Texas State University and received an M.A. in Music Therapy in 1982 from Texas Woman's University, where he taught guitar on the music faculty. After working as a music therapist at San Antonio State Hospital, he became the first Registered Music Therapist to work for the Windham School District in the Texas Department of Corrections, where he piloted the music therapy program with psychiatric inmates. He is retired from the Windham School District faculty where he worked as a music education director, a special education teacher, and an adult literacy teacher from 1982 to 2011.  He was on the SHSU School of Music faculty from 1991-2019, and taught Fundamental of Guitar, Advanced Guitar, and the Psychology of Music. He is the past Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Huntsville Children's Choir, and a former member of the Huntsville Men's Choir.

*James and Pam have produced almost 200 musical events at Thoreau Woods Coffeehouse, Johnson Studio House Concerts, Thoreau Woods Unitarian Universalist Church, and Wine Down, Shop Small. 

JACK SAUNDERS: Owner / White Cat Recording Studio Houston, Texas / Singer-Songwriter / Producer / Engineer

Michael L. Bobbitt: Owner / Rhombus Recording Studio Fort Thomas, Ky / Musician / Producer / Engineer

Music to Life was founded in 2000 by Noel “Paul” Stookey (of the 1960’s folk trio Peter, Paul & Mary).https://www.musictolife.org/about/ https://www.noelpaulstookey.com/