Recent Flood at Musical Intervention Headquarters

(Updated)

Musical Intervention Headquarters at 23 Temple is a musical, creative space devoted to those who are homeless or struggle with addiction, mental illness, or incarceration in downtown New Haven. Founded on the core conviction that music and creative expression cultivates positive self awareness and strengthens community and accountability, Musical Intervention is a critical current against the opioid and addiction crisis that is devastating the people of our city.

On December 6th, the lower level studio was destroyed by city water that flooded through the drain of a neighboring restaurant. The scope of the damage is currently being assessed, but Musical Intervention Headquarters will have to temporarily relocate or close its doors, leaving those who rely on Musical Intervention without the instruments, resources, recording equipment, and the friendships they depend on for support, camaraderie, and accountability.

The flooding has also hindered Musical Intervention’s ability to provide resources and programming to other local agencies and a church who sublet the space as well.

Community is the heartbeat of Musical Intervention and we need the heart of our community now to help us overcome this obstacle and to continue promoting the creative expression and musical healing of the people of New Haven.

Please join our GoFundMe as your donations will help us secure a temporary location while our current Headquarters is being repaired.



Adam Christoferson, founder of MI, and his supporters have designed a community music space for the public to gather and be inspired by one another. At the MI Headquarters there are weekly Open Mics, open to all ages, to come and share their songs and stories. This Headquarters is also an educational space for music lessons, songwriting workshops, and special performances. And not only do we have ample practice space but the possbility to record is available for anyone who wishes. It is truly a musicians paradise.

The Inspiration For The Space

During the 2015 Inspired People of New Haven Project, Musical Intervention hosted open mics at the Sunrise Café "soup kitchen" to gather talented individuals. A group of ten people who called themselves the Ordinary Differences as well as the Liberty Singers was created. At the Musical Intervention Holiday Showcase held at the end of December 2015, the Ordinary Differences performed in front of a live audience as we fed and clothed over 60 homeless people.  

Because of this project, lives were changed. Not only does Musical Intervention offer the opportunity to inspire it also helps to motivate our participants to improve their lives. This project, funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, the State of Connecticut, and the Arts Council of Greater New Haven, was the seed that planted this amazing mission to build the Musical Intervention Headquarters in downtown New Haven that serves as a safe space for anyone to come and be creatively inspired.

The Musical Intervention Headquarters will provide programs to various underserved populations such as:

Homeless
At-Risk Youth
Veterans
Substance Abuse
& the Developmentally Disabled

Our Mission 

Our mission is to help people write, record and perform original music. By doing this, it gives individuals a way to express themselves in ways that were unavailable to them before. By putting pen to paper, you allow someone the chance to sort through the things on their mind. Musical Intervention has found by this process, the end result is an inspired, more motivated, and united individuals.

Our Goal

Musical Intervention’s goal is to reduce the amount of people on the street not receiving services and to provide an emotional outlet for those that need it most. We must stand together to support our community and with programs like Musical Intervention, we can come together stronger than ever. 

Join Us

We are offering you to be apart of this wonderful cause to help enrich lives.

Make a donation and it will goes towards the rent & upkeep costs of the space. 

This is what we need:

Bathroom Supplies - $125/month
It's always the little things that add up, which include bathroom supplies. At the inflated cost of goods these days, it is hard to stay on top of all that we need.

Food and Drink- $166/month
For many of the individuals who work with Musical Intervention, sometimes they have no food to eat. With this money, we can provide a warm lunch. This helps with the ability to concentrate and continue to make music.

Signage and Promotional costs- $208/month
Letting people know about Musical Intervention from the very sign on the front, to flyers, brochures, business cards, promotional CDs, and other merchandise.

Travel Expenses & Parking in New Haven- $250/month
They have not made it easy for us in New Haven with expensive parking rates.

Utilities- $625/month
And this is probably on the low-end. With such a space having nearly 2,500 sq ft, the electric bill alone will probably be this high. 

Rent- $2,000/month
As a new social justice organization, we are just barely keeping up with monthly expenses. Helping us out by contributing to our costs would help us stay afloat until we can set up a more complex business model

Soundproofing Walls- $5,000
A principle element in any musical studio.

Taxes- $5,000/year
Because you can't forget about those.

Slop sink- $1,500
In order to bring in other young entrepreneurial talent, having a cafe style tri-sink would benefit the space as well as the community.

Sound Equipment- $5,000
Required for proper music recording including but not limited to the iMac computer, microphones, power amplifiers, speakers, etc.

Lighting and Professional Electrician Costs- $7,000
Re-wiring the space in order to have an ambient and therapeutic environment, as well as setting up the stage lighting.

Instruments- $10,000
The need for instruments is very much needed and one of the hardest things to get. Right now, we are looking to invest in a baby grand piano to provide piano lessons to participants.

For a Grand Total of… dun dun dun…

$50,000!

It may seem like a large feat now, but I know that if we can all come together to be apart of this amazing cause, great things are going to happen. Think of this as an opportunity to invest in the community that we all share.

For more information visit:
www.musicalintervention.com

Facebook: www.facebook.com/explorethesonginyou

Instagram: www.instagram.com/musicalintervention

Twitter: www.twitter.com/explorethesong

The opening of Musical Intervention Headquarters would not have been possible without the help of Project Storefronts New Haven, the City of New Haven, and of course our GoFundMe page. 

And Thank You to you, our supporters. We could not have come this far without you.

-Musical Intervention
September 17, 2016