The Miami International Symphony Orchestra will perform a three-hour “Music to Heal, Music to Honor,” concert honoring formerly homeless military veterans on the top floor of Carrfour Supportive Housing’s Barbara Carey Shuler Manor apartments in Liberty City on Saturday, June 17, 2023, 5:00pm. Ollantay Velasquez, the Orchestra’s Assistant Conductor, will conduct. Funding for the event is provided by South Arts and PNC Arts Alive.
Miami’s International Symphony Orchestra, known as MISO, is delivering three special performances to help formerly homeless local military veterans heal from trauma. The performances are being organized by Purpose Built Families Foundation (PBFF), a leading, nationally accredited provider of rapid rehousing, homelessness prevention, and community housing for veterans in Miami-Dade and Broward counties through the nonprofit’s Operation Sacred Trust collaboration.
Music makes a difference
PBFF’s Founder & CEO Seth Eisenberg said the concerts are making a difference. Dozens of formerly homeless veterans recently attended the symphony’s concert at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami.
“Within minutes, veterans were texting and emailing to share the impact,” Eisenberg said.
“Ending homelessness begins with bricks and mortar, actual housing,” said Meredith Baker, Director of Care at Operation Sacred Trust and an Air Force veteran. “Sustaining housing is about making sure veterans are integrated into the community,” she added.
Dr. Paul Lawrence, former VA Undersecretary for Benefits and a PBFF National Trustee, said the collaboration with MISO is an example of what it takes for local communities to end veteran homelessness and also help former servicemen and women recover from trauma.
About “what’s next” for formerly homeless Veterans
“Many agencies across the country invest in providing housing, and Operation Sacred Trust excels helping thousands of local veterans exit homelessness. The concerts are about what’s next: tangibly showing our former servicemen and women that they’re embraced, valued by the communities where they live, and that through actions we’re showing them they matter,” Dr. Lawrence said.
For more information, contact Mary Hudson or visit Music to Heal.