Music, Resilience & Recovery
Emotional Wellness Through Student Voice, Storytelling, and Song
After the January 2025 wildfires, communities across Los Angeles were left rebuilding homes, schools, neighborhoods, routines, and a sense of safety.
Recovery is not only physical. It is emotional. It is creative. It is communal.
Through a partnership with the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus, MySafe:LA helped bring music, storytelling, and creative expression to students in wildfire-impacted communities.
The result is a growing series of original songs and videos created by students from Altadena, Pasadena, Pacific Palisades, and Malibu — each one reflecting a different part of the recovery experience.
These songs are not just performances. They are student voices.
They are reflections on loss, change, belonging, hope, and the long process of moving forward
About the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus
The John Lennon Educational Tour Bus is a nonprofit mobile production studio that gives young people hands-on opportunities to create original music, video, audio, and digital media projects. Since 1998, the Lennon Bus has worked with students across the United States and beyond, helping young people tell their stories through creativity and collaboration.
For students affected by wildfire, that kind of creative space matters.
In a single day aboard the Lennon Bus, students work together to write lyrics, record music, produce vocals, shape a message, and create a finished video.
The process is fast, immersive, and deeply collaborative.
For many students, it creates a rare opportunity to step away from the stress of recovery and express what they have experienced in their own words.
Why Music Matters in Recovery
Wildfire recovery is often measured in visible milestones:
- debris removal
- insurance claims
- permitting
- rebuilding
- school reopening
- neighborhood repair
But emotional recovery follows a different timeline. Music can help young people and communities:
- express feelings that may be difficult to say directly
- process change, grief, uncertainty, and hope
- reconnect with classmates and neighbors
- restore a sense of agency
- create something meaningful from a painful experience
- remind others that recovery is still happening
Music does not erase loss.
But it can create space for reflection, connection, and forward movement.
Student Songs & Videos
Each song below was written, recorded, and produced by students aboard the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.
Together, they form a musical record of wildfire recovery in Los Angeles — told by young people who lived through it.
“Hiraeth”
Odyssey Charter School — Altadena
Hiraeth is a word often used to describe a deep longing for home — especially when home has changed.
Students from Altadena came together aboard the Lennon Bus to reflect on displacement, memory, grief, and resilience following the Eaton Fire. The project included students from Odyssey Charter School, Aveson Global Leadership Academy, and Flintridge Sacred Heart High School, many of whom were directly impacted by the fire.
The song captures both sadness and strength.
It reminds us that home is more than a structure. It is memory, identity, family, and community.
“Mr. Change”
Blair High School — Pasadena
Even when buildings are damaged or lost, community can remain.
Students from Palisades Charter High School created “Same City” as a tribute to Pacific Palisades and the people who continue to care for one another after the fire.
“Same City” is about belonging.
It is about the idea that a place can change and still be loved.
"Same City"
Palisades Charter High School — Pacific Palisades
Even when buildings are damaged or lost, community can remain.
Students from Palisades Charter High School created “Same City” as a tribute to Pacific Palisades and the people who continue to care for one another after the fire.
“Same City” is about belonging.
It is about the idea that a place can change and still be loved.
"Facing Flames"
Malibu High School - Malibu
The Malibu High School project brings another part of Los Angeles’ wildfire story into focus.
Malibu students have lived with the long shadow of wildfire, including the Woolsey Fire and the 2025 Palisades Fire. In this final collaboration between the Lennon Bus and MySafe:LA, students from Malibu High School spent a day creating music that reflects what wildfire has meant for their community.
“Facing Flames” gives students a way to express years of memory, disruption, resilience, and hope through song.
Creative Expression and Emotional Wellness
The songs on this page were created by students, but their message reaches beyond the students who made them.
They can help families, schools, and communities talk about recovery in a different way.
A song can open a conversation.
A lyric can name something people have been feeling.
A video can remind a community that its young people are still processing what happened — and still imagining what comes next.
These projects may be useful for:
- classroom discussions
- school assemblies
- community recovery gatherings
- youth wellness programs
- family conversations
- neighborhood resilience events
The goal is not to ask students to “move on.”
The goal is to honor what they experienced, support expression, and help create space for connection.
When More Support May Help
Creative expression can be an important part of recovery, but it is not a substitute for professional support.
If you, a family member, a student, or someone in your community is experiencing ongoing distress, anxiety, sleep disruption, grief, depression, or thoughts of self-harm, help is available.
If someone may be in immediate danger, call 911.
Emotional wellness resources may include:
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Free wildfire recovery counseling, support groups, and trauma-informed care for people affected by the fires.
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24/7 Help Line: 800-854-7771. Fire Support Line: 833-659-0600.
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Call, text, or chat 988 for 24/7 crisis support.
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Call or text 1-800-985-5990 for disaster-related emotional support.
Part of the Los Angeles Wildfire Resilience Alliance
This music initiative is part of the broader work of the Los Angeles Wildfire Resilience Alliance, a partnership between the Los Angeles City Fire Department and MySafe:LA.
Through LAWRA, recovery is understood as more than rebuilding structures.
It also includes emotional wellness, preparedness, community connection, youth engagement, evacuation readiness, Firewise participation, and long-term resilience.
Resilience is not built in one way.
It is built through many forms of support — practical, emotional, creative, and communal.
Share the Music. Share the Message.
We encourage families, educators, students, and community leaders to listen, share, and use these songs as part of the recovery conversation.
You can:
- share the videos with families and neighbors
- use them in classroom or youth discussions
- include them in community recovery gatherings
- invite students to reflect through music, art, writing, or conversation
- celebrate the creativity and courage of young people
Their voices matter.
Their stories matter.
Their recovery matters.
Music cannot replace what was lost. But it can help people feel heard, connected, and less alone.
The Musicians
Odyssey Charter School
- Brooks Mitchell
- Allison Homer
- Lauren Flores Hunter
- Oliver Smith
- Jaiden Harris
- Ezra Valencia-Walsh
- Milo Down
Flintridge Sacred Heart HS
- Leslie Milton
Aveson Global Leadership Academy
- Sophia Cortez
- Benjamin Hastings
- Henry Blood
Blair High School
- Fernando Patlan
- Nigel Morris
- Mattias Orr
- Ryker Hogan-Esh
- Johnny Magzul
- Edben Martinez
- Henry Flores
- Zack Vasco
- Julian Ojeda
- Jack McDonald
- Anais Henry
- Moss Tucker
Palisades Charter HS
- Tyla Braga-Stevens
- Max Dorband
- Hunter Hemmens
- Mason DeGuzman
- Uriel De La Cueva
- Ema Lopez
- Zachrie Sergenian
- Cesar Romero Avila
Paul Revere Middle School
- Matan Altman
- Natalie Wallin
- James Wood
- Joseph Rosenthal
Malibu High School
- Atticus Sullivan
- Vera Kibler
- Taylor Murray
- Sadie Regan
- Leila Trujillo
- Layla Ferrer Colon
- Christopher Flores
- Nick Ortiz
- Luke Trujillo
- Lulu Goode
- Xavier Godbille
- Natan Apel
Funding for this project was partially provided by a grant from Edison International, through the California Fire Safe Council.
