Gibson Gives Launches TEMPO Program:
Training and Empowering Musicians to Prevent Overdose, TEMPO
Saves Musicians Lives After Elevated Opioid Overdose Risk
Due To Covid 19 Pandemic
NASHVILLE, TN (May 25, 2021) Gibson Gives--the charitable arm of Gibson Brands--has launched TEMPO, a new program to save musicians lives in response to continued and elevated opioid overdoses from over a year of confinement and Covid 19 closures. TEMPO--Training and Empowering Musicians to Prevent Overdose--is designed to empower participating non-profits and provide life-saving training necessary for using the drug naloxone (Narcan, Naloxone Auto-Injector) to prevent an opioid overdose. To learn more about TEMPO, visit: www.tempomission.org.
Just before the Covid 19 pandemic, Gibson Gives joined with HarborPath--a non-profit which provides free medications to the uninsured through a streamlined, single application online portal--and MusiCares®, which safeguards the well-being of all music people through health and human services across a spectrum of needs, including physical and mental health, addiction recovery, preventative clinics, unforeseen personal emergencies, and disaster relief--to investigate why opioid abuse and overdoses were growing at a rapid pace within the music community. During pandemic shutdown, with music venues closed, tours and festivals canceled, and recording plans placed on hold, opioid usage and overdoses surged even higher in the music and artist communities. Solace For Hope™ and Musicians for Overdose Prevention joined the conversation to work toward a campaign of naloxone training and naloxone distribution in the music industry.
For TEMPO, Gibson Gives partnered with nine non-profit organizations including the five founding, voting members Harbor Path, Gibson Gives, MusiCares, Musicians for Overdose Prevention, and Solace for Hope, as well as four additional non-profits National Harm Reduction Coalition, The Roadie Clinic (a Roadie Advocacy Group), The SCARS Foundation, and Life by Music Foundation which now form the TEMPO Member Network.
The TEMPO program believes it is important not only to save a life, but also to aid in recovery. Select TEMPO partners will provide counseling for those suffering from opioid addiction, and to family members who have lost a loved one to overdose. Each non-profit member of the TEMPO Network is recognized as an official TEMPO program training center and will stock naloxone. In Summer of 2021, fans will recognize “powered by TEMPO” programs at concert venues, studios, clubs, and more. Gibson’s own Entertainment Relations locations across the U.S. including Nashville, TN, Los Angeles, CA, Austin, TX, Seattle, WA, Miami, FL, as well as MusiCares offices are also official TEMPO training centers with naloxone onsite.
“Losing one musician to overdose is too many,” says Dendy Jarrett, Executive Director of Gibson Gives. “The heart that each participating non-profit has shown has been inspiring. I’ve been touched by the level of collaboration on this project, and we encourage other like-minded non-profits to join TEMPO.”
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TEMPO:
Gibson Gives:
About TEMPO:
Training and Empowering Musicians to Prevent Overdose (TEMPO) is an overdose prevention program focused on harm reduction and naloxone distribution for musicians, music venues, and the industries that support musicians, i.e.: Tour Bus Providers, Cartage Companies, Lighting and Rigging Companies, Rehearsal Facilities, and Venues. We are working to create a network of music focused non-profits who have joined forces to promote the TEMPO mission. For more information, visit: www.tempomission.org.
About Gibson Gives:
For over 127 years, Gibson has been shaping sound across generations and genres through their guitars. Gibson, and its charitable arm Gibson Gives believe in the power of music, and that getting instruments into the hands of those with a desire to make music is a truly life-changing event. Gibson Gives--a 501(c)(3) committed to introduce, inspire, and amplify the power of music through guitars--believes that now more than ever we must band together to support programs for music students. Gibson Gives is committed to making the world a better place through music by creating, developing, supporting programs, and working with other non-profit organizations, in their efforts to advance youth-focused and healing music initiatives. 100% of all donations to and from Gibson Gives go towards giving the gift of music. In mid-2019, Gibson Gives committed to donating 1,000 guitars over the next 1000 days and blew past that milestone, by donating over 3000 guitars in 500 days. Gibson Gives believes investing in music education will yield better people, better leaders, and a better world. Gibson Gives is changing lives…one guitar at a time. For more information, visit: www.gibsongives.org.
About HarborPath:
HarborPath is a North Carolina based national non-profit that provides access to critical medications for uninsured people living with life-threatening and chronic diseases. HarborPath has recently launched a new Public Health Initiative to facilitate the availability of naloxone to individuals who suffer from opioid addiction by partnering with TEMPO, visit: www.harborpath.org.
About MusiCares:
MusiCares helps the humans behind music because music gives so much to the world. Offering preventive, emergency, and recovery programs, MusiCares is a safety net supporting the health and welfare of the music community. Founded by the Recording Academy in 1989 as a U.S. based 501(c)(3) charity, MusiCares safeguards the well-being of all music people through direct financial grant programs, networks of support resources, and tailored crisis relief efforts. For more information please visit: www.musicares.org.
About Solace for Hope™:
Solace For Hope a 501(3) (c) organization, is dedicated to offering comfort, support and resources to those who are trying to save a loved one or who have lost a loved from the devastating effects of opioid dependence and other substance use disorders. Solace For Hope educates the public by hosting weekly meetings either by in person or online for TEMPO, to help impacted families and loved ones, while also offering certified life-saving techniques that can save a loved one during an opioid overdose episode. To set up special TEMPO meetings online, visit: www.solaceforhope.org.
About The Roadie Clinic:
The Roadie Clinic is committed to providing a safe space for roadies and their families to heal while off the road, and to advocate for - and empower them to obtain - a healthy work environment while on the road. Our three-story, multi-faceted space will offer therapy, education, advocacy, financial guidance, recovery resources and temporary housing when available. Operating as a 501(c)(3), The Clinic will offer its facility and services, both in person and online, for little to no charge to touring professionals and their families.
About Musicians for Overdose Prevention:
Musicians for Overdose Prevention is a North Carolina-based non-profit organized to combat pervasive mental health issues amongst rock musicians, specifically overdose. Our methods are to distribute naloxone to music venues and to rock bands. We are an organization that is founded and run by musicians.
About The Scars Foundation:
The Scars Foundation is a nonprofit established by Sully Erna and Godsmack to help raise awareness of the mental health issues that so many are faced with today. With the rise of suicides, bullying, addiction, abuse and so many other challenges, The Scars Foundation is dedicated to providing resources and tools to educate and empower people on a global level that struggle with these burdens. For more info visit www.scarsfoundation.org or email our Executive Director, Naomi Fabricant at naomi@scars-foundation.org.
National Harm Reduction Coalition:
National Harm Reduction Coalition creates spaces for dialogue and action that help heal the harms caused by racialized drug policies. We hold space for and support communities who are impacted by HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose, offering resources and training for local leaders to create solutions that work best for their community. Our work intersects with many other movements but here is where we focus:
- Overdose Prevention: Naloxone distribution and overdose prevention nationally
- Syringe Access Implementation: Active efforts to ensure sterile syringe access for all
- Training and Capacity Building: We offer training on evidence-based best practices to help harm reduction organizations to thrive.
- Policy & Advocacy: Equal access to healthcare and human services for people who use drugs and marginalized communities.
- Conference & Events: We create spaces for dialogue and action to build the movement
We believe people who use drugs are the experts of their own experience and we offer tools to promote safer drug use to prevent HIV, hepatitis C, and overdose. Nearly 70,000 people died from drug overdose last year. The work of the Harm Reduction movement is a matter of life and death. For more information, visit: https://harmreduction.org/.
About Life By Music:
Life By Music is a non-profit organization dedicated to introducing instruments and other musical resources into the lives of underprivileged and at-risk youth. Life By Music focuses on charity-driven music and arts-based events to spread awareness throughout the U.S. about the positive impact that music has on the emotional, mental, and social development of youth. The main goal is to inspire and instill the message that with the power of music, art, and collaboration, we can bridge the gap between all things.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
PRIME PR GROUP, INC.
Libby Coffey
+ 1 626-676-4993
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