Rocking recovery: music helps veteran rise out of homelessness | va greater los angeles health care | veterans affairs

Army and Navy Veteran Louis Figueroa made the rounds, bopping his head while offering words of encouragement to members of the group. Serving as a conductor of sorts, Figueroa was the first

member to join the amateur band, which goes by the name Finally Living.   It was formed as part of a therapy program offered at the medical center by Rock to Recovery, a nonprofit that helps

people heal and transform their lives through writing and performing music as a group. Rock to Recovery was specifically designed for people with mental health and substance use issues,

eating disorders, and other struggles, according to the chief operating officer of Rock to Recovery Brandon Jordan. Rock to Recovery provides these services free of charge, in partnership

with VA.  Figueroa, a former patient at the Domiciliary (DOM), a Mental Health Residential Rehabilitation Treatment Program located in Building 217, credited Rock to Recovery and the

services he received from VA with pulling him out of the depths of addiction and into a life of rock, photography, and revitalization.   "I've been a patient at the DOM around 5 or

6 times, but from the first day of playing guitar with Rock to Recovery, I've never turned back,” he said. “Writing and playing music gave me an outlet and opened doors for me.”  The

more engaged someone is in the musical experience the deeper healing they have, according to Amy Novotney in the article “Music as Medicine” published by the American Psychological

Association in 2013. Music reduces anxiety, depression, stress, and the awareness of pain at the molecular level. When people learn music, they build new neural pathways in their brains that

are connected with positive experiences, growth, and memories.  “There is an ever-expanding library of quantifiable research that shows that musical interventions work. Music was given to

us to communicate, express, entertain, and most importantly heal - to heal ourselves and the world around us,” said Abraham Ludwig, board-certified creative arts therapist (music) at VA.

“Thankfully, Louis found music, or you could say that music found him, exactly where he was and he was ready.”  Figueroa gave a lot of credit to his music instructor and mentor Jordan, a

certified drug and alcohol counselor with Rock to Recovery, for teaching him how to play music and supporting him through the ups and downs of his journey.   "Brandon has been my pillar

of support. He stood by me through thick and thin," Figueroa said.  Before music, Figueroa said he constantly battled personal demons and struggled with addiction while juggling the

responsibilities of being a single parent. He would eventually have several run-ins with the law and would spend time being homeless. Figueroa said he even got kicked out of the DOM several

times for alcohol intoxication. (The DOM has a strict policy that participants must be sober while receiving care.) His drug and alcohol addictions became so tumultuous that he lost custody

of both his son and daughter. Fortunately, one of his close female friends stepped in to watch his children when he was at his lowest point.  “Louis has dedicated himself to becoming a

healthy person and that has allowed him to become a healthy member of society,” said Jordan. “He stopped running from reality by using negative coping skills like drugs and alcohol. Louis is

a testimony to how strong we are.”  The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Recreation Therapy Service supports the effectiveness of creative arts therapies interventions such as Music

Therapy. Creative arts therapies increase motivation within patients to become engaged in treatment, provide emotional support for Veterans and their families, and create an outlet for

Veterans to express their feelings. Research results and clinical experiences attest that positive results stem from creative arts therapies - especially for those who are resistant to other

treatment approaches.  “Louis’ passion and determination to live one day at a time in order to be a good father, son, neighbor, musician, and leader, continues to motivate others to take

one step at a time,” said Dr. S T Williams, Jr., Louis' clinical therapist while living at the DOM.  Even though Louis has graduated from the DOM, he said he still remains in very close

contact with the Veteran community. Jordan called Figueroa a “creative soul” because he now uses the skills he learned in Rock To Recovery to not only compose songs, but to build the next

chapter of his life as he dedicates time supporting other Veterans on their path to sobriety.   “Rock to Recovery played a significant role in the success of my journey. Music and the group

gave me the strength to overcome my addictions and regain control of my life,” he said.  Figueroa said he continually finds solace in creating music and the supportive environment provided

by the group of musically gifted Veterans.   “I was at the first jam session at the West LA VA campus, and I’ve been a part of it ever since,” he said. “I was a patient, alongside other

Veterans, experiencing the transformative power of music.”   In 2015, he said he purchased a second-hand bass guitar and brought it with him weekly on buses and public transportation. He was

driven by the peace that he found in the process of creating the music. It helped him weather the storm of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety.   “The COVID-19 pandemic tested

my resilience and pushed my PTSD to its limits. A lot of Veterans I knew couldn’t handle it, but music helped keep me sober,” said Figueroa.  He said he has written more than 400 original

songs spanning various genres including punk, reggae, and blues with the guidance of Jordan and his bandmates in Finally Living.  With the help of Rock to Recovery, the community, and other

supportive VA programs, Louis graduated from the DOM in 2015 and obtained a stable apartment through Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing in 2017 in Lincoln

Heights. He said now he volunteers on Skid Row to remind himself of where he was and how he has changed. He never wants to turn back.  “I find Louis' story to be inspirational, in the

fact that he was able to make a change in his life,” Ludwig said. “The part that I respect the most, is that it's not an accident, it's measurable, but more than anything it was

his intrinsic motivator, his hard work and discipline, and somewhere in there finding love for the experience, that inevitably changed him.” Figueroa's path to recovery was tumultuous,

but with the help of the West LA VA Medical Center, he said he found hope, healing, and a newfound passion for music and photography.   "I've come a long way from the darkness of

addiction. Now, I stand strong, playing music, taking pictures, and cherishing my role as a full-time dad," Figueroa said with a smile. “It’s so nice to see fellow Veterans and VA staff

and I’m able to tell them that I’m still successful.”