911 Project Harmony Helps First Responders Turn Trauma Into Music

First responders carry stories that can be difficult to explain and even harder to leave behind. Through 911 Project Harmony, those experiences are being transformed into original music with the help of professional songwriters, musicians, and producers.

CBS Los Angeles recently visited the historic Larrabee Studios in Toluca Lake, where Pasadena Fire Captain Matthew Caffey listened to a song inspired by his experience battling the Eaton Fire.

The fire devastated Altadena and surrounding communities, leaving first responders to confront widespread destruction, loss of life, and the emotional weight of trying to reach people who could not be saved.

“People don’t understand the gravity of what we had to go through,” Caffey told CBS Los Angeles. “It’s just tough.”

Through 911 Project Harmony, Caffey and other participating first responders are given a safe environment to share their stories. They then collaborate with experienced music professionals as those stories are shaped into lyrics, melodies, and fully produced songs.

The process allows participants to hear their experiences reflected back to them in a new form, helping them articulate emotions that may otherwise be difficult to express.

Creating Space for First Responders to Be Heard

911 Project Harmony is an initiative of 911 At Ease International, an organization co-founded by retired police officer Mike McGrew. The organization provides free, trauma-informed counseling to police officers, firefighters, emergency personnel, and their families who are coping with work-related stress and trauma.

More than 13,000 first responders have received support through 911 At Ease International.

“It takes a lot of courage to tell your story and to be vulnerable,” McGrew said during the CBS Los Angeles report. “And that’s what they’ve done.”

Participants in 911 Project Harmony do more than provide inspiration for a song. They are invited into the creative process, sitting alongside the writers and producers and watching as professional artists record music drawn from their experiences.

For Caffey, hearing the final song was both emotional and meaningful.

“For them to be able to collaborate and put it into words, it’s life-changing,” he said, about the songwriters and musicians.

Music as a Path Toward Healing

First responders routinely witness traumatic events while serving their communities. Over time, those experiences can contribute to depression, post-traumatic stress, relationship difficulties, substance misuse, and an increased risk of suicide.

Programs such as 911 Project Harmony provide another way for first responders to process what they have endured. By turning their memories into music, participants can begin to give language and structure to experiences that may have previously felt overwhelming or impossible to communicate.

The songs also help families and members of the public better understand the human impact of emergency response work.

As one lyric from Caffey’s song explains:

“We know that it’s the job,
and we’re never gonna stop
trying to get to you.”

911 Project Harmony ensures that the people who spend their careers responding to others also have a place where their own stories can be heard.