Punk! Rock! Saves! Lives!

If you’ve been to a punk show lately (and if not, you really should!), you may have seen a table with a box of supplies and a volunteer, and a sign identifying them all as part of Punk Rock Saves Lives, or PRSL. You may have used some of the supplies (the ear plugs have saved me more than once!), or stopped to chat, or just walked on by. But PRSL is more than just emergency ear plugs. It’s a volunteer organization that is dedicated to making a real difference in people’s lives in three key areas: mental health, harm reduction, and bone marrow donation (hopefully! Our goal is to add people to the registry).

Let’s talk about it.

Mental health is a huge, varied, extremely personal topic. Personally, I have anxiety disorder, comma general, and bouts of depression. I’m also a recovering alcoholic. Unsurprisingly, these things are linked. I would self-medicate so my anxiety wouldn’t make it impossible for me to go out and “enjoy” things. Giving up that crutch was terrifying but imagine my delight when I found a vibrant community of like-minded sober people to hang out with at shows! Now I enjoy live music more than ever and am able to remember the experience and feel the huge emotions that the music brings up. I have been in therapy for over half my life, which is an immense privilege for many reasons, not the least being the major financial barriers that exist to getting help. I didn’t go to rehab when I got sober, but I know plenty of people who did. And those beds in inpatient treatment are EXPENSIVE and can be as hard to find as an original “God Save The Queen” vinyl. People I love have dealt with everything from eating disorders to suicidal ideation to OCD. I have lost people to mental illness and addiction. I wish there were a one-size-fits-all answer, or an easy fix. Unfortunately, that isn’t reality. So, we must come together and help each other as best we can. One of the most powerful things we can do is just talk about it, without shame or judgement. There are mental health resources available, for you and for loved ones. You can text 988 (in the US) to reach the crisis and suicide lifeline. For non-crisis support you can call the NAMI helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264). Each state also has crisis help available. We will explore this further in the future (so make sure to let me know if you have specific questions!).

Harm reduction is spectrum of strategies designed to meet people who use drugs where they are at, and to help them minimize the harmful effects of drug use without judgment or condemnation. There are a lot of moving parts to harm reduction, and a lot of it is specific to individual people and communities. However, we can all do some easy things like carry Narcan (and know how to use and store it!). We also provide test strips to help people determine if the substance they are intending to use has been cut with something they DON’T intend to use. We provide “what’s in your drink” cards to test forthe “date-rape" drugs GHB and Ketamine. We also provide contraceptives, both condoms and the morning after pill. Safe sex is another form of harm reduction!

Finally, we want YOU (yes, you!) to sign up for the bone marrow registry. This is probably the easiest thing you can do to help save lives! All you need to do is see one of our volunteers, who will hand you a swab kit. You rub a Q-Tip-like wand around your mouth, put it in a little tube, and that’s it! I personally have been on the bone marrow registry for years, since a friend of mine became a donor. I had a million questions for him (mainly “did it hurt?”) and when I found out how easy and painless the donation was, and that he literally saved someone’s life (!!!), I signed right up. If you’re already on the registry, thank you! If you aren’t, please sign up! A few seconds of your time could make a huge difference.

So that’s us, in a few paragraphs! We are a 501c nonprofit volunteer organization, always looking for people to help at shows. Join us, volunteer, donate, or just find out more at www.punkrocksaveslives.org. If ever there was a time for punks to step up and build community, it’s now.