Guitars, Not Guns
Written by JEFFREY WARD
Photographs Courtesy of Guitars Not Guns
Students prepare to perform at a Guitars Not Guns gathering.
Sgt. Edward Lee
“There’s a lot of violence going on,
and as law enforcement officers, we do what we can. Instead of kids seeing us arresting people, we take the initiative and come to the kids first and show them we are here to help. That’s what we love to do.”
— Sgt. Edward Lee
Maybe you’ve heard the old maxim, “Kids should never play with guns.”
The Newnan Police Department strongly agrees, but they offer a bonafide alternative: Play guitars instead.
Their Guitars Not Guns program is the brainchild of Ray and Louise Nelson, who founded the nonprofit in the San Francisco Bay Area 18 years ago. The program focuses on teaching at-risk kids the basics of playing guitar.
With vast experience as foster parents, the Nelsons wished for an alternative to the violence, drugs and dysfunctional environment many foster and at-risk children are exposed to on a daily basis. Their goal with Guitars Not Guns is to provide these kids with security, empowerment, creativity and mentorship – learned abilities that many foster and at-risk children don’t acquire, according to the couple.
The Guitars Not Guns’ mission statement reads: “Music has the power to heal. We instill a love and appreciation of music that children can carry with them for the rest of their lives.”
After the Nelson’s relocated to Peachtree City, their program caught the attention of the Newnan Police Department; in particular, it grabbed the attention of Sgt. Edward Lee, a community resource officer who has spearheaded the program locally since 2015.
Lee joined the Newnan Police Department in 2007 and says kicking off the Guitars Not Guns program was a challenge: They needed interested kids. They needed guitars. They needed guitar instructors. They needed funding.
Lee and fellow community resource officer Cpl. Adam Griffith contacted the local housing authority and recruited students for the first guitar class in 2015. Forty students signed up, but since they could only take half that many, the others were assigned to a waiting list, according to Lee.
Guitar instructors were recruited, including a couple who work at the police department, notably Lt. Denver Atwood and Mike Twomey who have been with the program since its inception. In all, about ten instructors have helped teach guitar to the kids.
Guitars Not Guns classes run eight weeks with a weekly one-hour session. The program targets foster kids and at-risk youth ages 8 to 18 with ideally no more than 10 students per class with three adult instructors.
While learning how to change from one chord to another, guitar students learn perseverance and discipline while building self-esteem, according to Lee. Students who successfully complete the basic program may keep their guitars and enroll for advanced classes.
On the front row, Police Chief Buster Meadows, left, recently recognized Guitars Not Guns Founders Ray and Louise Nelson with Appreciation Awards as program volunteers look on, from left, back: Mike Twomey, Lisa Sewell, Chris Johnson and Danny Sewell.
The program takes a minimum of $1,000 to conduct a successful class for 10 students, according to Lee, who says volunteers and donations make it possible. Funding is raised through the department’s golf tournament and car show, and various organizations contribute through Newnan Community Resource Inc., a nonprofit that helps fund Newnan Police Department’s outreach programs.
As far as he knows, says Lee, the local Guitars Not Guns program is the first attempted by a municipal police department in the United States.
“The Guitars Not Guns program helps soothe the minds of kids, and that is just one of the reasons why we have this program,” says Lee. “They come in and see law enforcement on a positive level, and we let them know that violence does not solve problems.”
According to the Nelsons, foster and at-risk kids often suffer from behavioral difficulties due to chaotic or non-existent home environments.
Gathered with their guitar students, Guitars Not Guns volunteers are from left, front: Lt. Denver Atwood, Cpl. Adam Griffith, Sgt. Edward Lee and Deputy Chief Mark Cooper. Back: Brian Griffith, Brent Ritter, founders Louise and Ray Nelson and Ellis Lowery.
So, why music?
Studying, playing and listening to music causes the brain to release endorphins, which produce a pleasant and calming effect on individuals, according to the program’s founders. In the Guitars Not Guns learning environment, students learn how to concentrate, become disciplined, work as a team, enjoy musical creation and realize accomplishments.
Due to restrictions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Guitars Not Guns has been suspended since March 2020, but owing to its popularity, it will be back as soon as it’s deemed safe to do so, according to Lee. He considers Guitars Not Guns to be the police department’s most successful and popular program for boys and girls.
“This program emphasizes kids,” he says. “There’s a lot of violence going on, and as law enforcement officers we do what we can. Instead of kids seeing us arresting people, we take the initiative and come to the kids first and show them we are here to help. That’s what we love to do.”
NCM
