by Allyson Lipkin

The Austin Homeless Musicians Guild is a fairly new program started by Charles McMurry, a recreational therapist at the homeless shelter, Safe Haven. There, he counsels homeless folks for a living and helps run the shelter.

"The daily grind of it -- keeping homeless people off crack..." he explains entering the shelter on Oak Springs in beautiful East Austin.It's a tough job. It takes someone with a lot of love and conscience to give and keep giving. The Musicians Guild is a very personal endeavor he started with the intent of providing a fun and expressive environment for homeless artists.

"This came from a very grass roots thing," McMurry explains. "We are the artists, where is our stuff? Musical equipment certainly is more expensive than art supplies. So we started to try and find basic art and music supplies and volunteers that do aromatherapy, massage, music. It is based out of this shelter because that is where I work during the day. [The guild] is for homeless people I know that aren't here at this shelter. We opened in February and, with the supervisor of this shelter, we bought a couple of guitars, bongos -- you know, the basic stuff. That works for people here at the shelters, but the other places who have homeless folks or people who just live on the streets or in the woods...don't have access. So our two little guitars and our bongos can only go so far. So we are trying to get access to a more central location and volunteers to connect with these folks."

The deal is, people in general are fearful of the homeless or mentally disabled. Yes, there are some violent cases. But the majority of people are just people, and in talking with them one realizes there is nothing to be afraid of. Mr. Preuss, a member of Safe Haven and the Musicians Guild, provided me with detailed plans for an idea he has for a culture and activity center across the street from Safe Haven. His ideas are cohesive. He played a couple of tunes while he talked about his life.

Where does the equipment come from? "Right now it's through volunteers or personal friends who want to connect," says Charles. "J.B. Henry, a volunteer, a multi-musician harpist saxophonist. Somebody like that who has a lot of equipment, that does it all. Someone who will come, sit at a spot at a park. After doing that routinely that could be a collective spot for folks. With the homeless community, a lot of it is word of mouth. It's a trusted thing -- we are not trying to get them into a state hospital. They are homeless. One-third of people are homeless by choice, one-third are people that aren't making enough money to have a place, and one-third are people who are mentally ill or are disconnected without the proper supports."

With mentally ill people who are also drug users,there are alternatives, however few. The state hospital will take them if they are of harm to themselves or others. Then there are psychiatric emergency services at a place called the Inn, which is for folks that aren't in need of being in the state hospital. It's not really a locked unit. They can do stuff during the day and it's kind of structured. A chance to see a nurse and get on medication. The down side of that -- and that's how the Musicians Guild gets involved -- is that they have one class a week for music and basic choir. There are no forms of musical or artistic expression outside of this little life skill-building thing. There is a kind of philosophical issue: Do we teach this person how to cook? Ask this person what they want to do in life, and what kinds of forms of expression can they do to get well? Are we going to cram them full of these skill-building things, lock them up, or provide them with a more informal way to get well?

McMurry explains that what Austin needs is a place for homeless people to be during the day and night to gain some skills, have a chance to be in a safe environment, get on medication, and work on life skills from a more expressive place.

"You can learn skills, how to be around one another, how to take care of yourself, how to clean, cook, and still do that in a less threatening environment than a locked unit or a medical model approach. We are trying to find some place and some equipment for the people that need that type of approach. And other musicians that are willing to volunteer. We are trying to get the word out to local musicians or people who have an old guitar in their closet or someone who wants to hang out with other musicians that are disconnected with society. Anyone who is looking for an excuse to hang out with other people can join. There is no membership fee, no sign-up."

Interested homeless people could find out about the program through either the Austin Resource Center for the Homeless (ARCH) or by word of mouth and contacting Charles McMurry. He explains, "There is more to the guild than what's contained here at Safe Haven. It is also for people who don't want services at a shelter like this, who may come walking up wanting to play -- once things get structured. This really isn't even a program. It's a movement. Although I'm not homeless, I'm trying to get it started. It's them; it's theirs. I'm a contact person. It's definitely a people's thing."

National Homeless Awareness Week is Nov. 13-27, and Austin will be hosting some events. On the 13th and 15th there is Arts From The Streets, an art show at ARCH. On Monday the 16th at 5:30pm, Channel 10 will present a homeless TV show, Dialogues About Homelessness. Wednesday the 18th the film Bouldin Greenbelt will play at Dobie Theatre at 8pm. Also, a service for homeless people who have passed away this year will be held at the gazebo by the Stevie Ray Vaughan statue at sunrise on the 22nd. The same day, homeless musicians will be playing at Ruta Maya from 1 to 3pm. The donations will go to the musicians who play. At La Zona Rosa that day, a benefit from 3 to 7pm by local musicians Lee Ann Atherton and Paula Nelson will take place with a $4 cover.

Check out these events. If you have spare musical equipment to donate or are interested in the Austin Homeless Musicians Guild, contact Charles McMurry at (512) 926-5698.