HAAM helps Austin musicians connect and transform our community’s heart, spirit and economy.

Austin is the “Live Music Capital of the World and Health Alliance for Austin Musicians (HAAM) proudly supports the musicians who make our lives so rich. Since 2005 HAAM has connected 6,000 musicians to more than $113 million dollars in healthcare services.

8,000+

musicians live and work in Austin. Currently, the need exceeds our
capacity to serve.

Live music in Austin generates close to $2 billion annually. As a cultural staple of our community, live music draws tourists and companies looking to attract a talented workforce. Most Austin area musicians, however, are adversely affected by this economic boom. The majority live on the edge of poverty, performing their music and working multiple jobs, but struggling to pay inflating costs for food, clothing, rent and healthcare.

80%

of HAAM musicians earn less than $24,000 per year.

HAAM visionary Robin Shivers and a group of supportive Austinites founded HAAM in 2005 to address the previously unmet healthcare needs of low-income working Austin musicians—challenges as varied as hearing loss, dental work, healthcare coverage and mental health. HAAM’s successful healthcare delivery partnerships have encouraged more musician members to enroll every year, musicians’ economic burdens keep growing. It is imperative that we build our capacity, in people, space and resources, to address the increased economic pressures on our local musicians.

46%

growth in membership since 2015

Austin music is on the map.
The next crucial step toward keeping Austin music alive and well is to put HAAM on the map.

We have purchased the building at 3036 South First street.

1 mile from South Congress & South Lamar

2.3 miles to downtown Austin

4.9 miles to Red River District

A convenient hub for musicians with ample access to parking and public transportation.

With a permanent home we can:

  1. Expand to serve the growing number of musicians in need. We have outgrown our current space and cannot continue to expand without investing in the proper infrastructure to support our clients. The expanded physical footprint of our new space will allow us to add additional focused, compassionate program staff to enroll new musicians.

  2. Provide additional services such as a musician resource hub, a hearing screening room, access to computers and wifi, as well as space for musician education and wellness trainings.

  3. Provide enough stability to help Austin musicians lay permanent roots in our community. Simply put, the “Live Music Capital of the World” needs a dedicated space built specifically to meet the health and well-being of musicians and their families. Such a place will concentrate our focus on supporting the personal lives of professional musicians. In doing so, we will help musicians stay here—living and playing—within our expensive city limits.

  4. Support the longevity of our mission through real estate stability and an appreciating asset. HAAM is fortunate to have had the incredible support of generous partners in the community, such as Gary Keller and Ascension Seton, both of whom provided HAAM low-cost centers of operations over the past 16 years. But HAAM’s growth is outgrowing our partners’ kindness and it’s time to stand on our own. Ownership of our building (a first in the organization’s history) will secure a long- term appreciating asset and support our long-term financial stability by avoiding the high costs of current and future rents. Our goal is to ensure that our financial resources remain focused on program delivery while minimizing overhead costs.

  5. Honor the privacy and dignity of our clients. The planned space will provide private access to medical care support in a warm and inviting musician-centered hub accessible to all.

HAAM’s proven track record of working collaboratively in four worlds—community health, economic development, tourism and cultural arts—has established us as one of the most impactful non-profit organizations serving the five-county Austin metro area. The new, permanent long-term home for HAAM will strengthen the health and culture of Austin. HAAM’s new 7,314 square foot space will be larger than our current space and configured to meet the needs of our musicians and volunteers.

Our new space will contain:

  • private and public collaborative spaces for artists, staff and community members to meet and interact

  • a Musicians, Resource Center for internet and technology access and community services information

  • an intimate performance space and stage to showcase the musicians we serve

  • a central navigation hub to support clients’ health outcomes, enabling access to healthcare and health services including: insurance enrollment and premium assistance and primary and preventative care, mental health, dental, vision and basic needs such as food access

  • space for all HAAM staff under one roof, with room to grow in order to serve every working musician in the Austin area who needs our services

Some things can’t be expressed in words. And music is one of them. Music may be scored on paper, but it flies off the page, lodges inside our spirit, then fills the gaps between us. Music transforms and connects. How fortunate that we live in a city that celebrates music and rallies in support of musicians when rent and healthcare costs soar.

The campaign to Bring HAAM Home is the exciting next step toward solidifying musician’s essential place within our community. It will establish a permanent home for HAAM and in doing so, will make local musicians more secure. It will ensure our city continues to be a place where musicians can grow audiences, families and inspirational music.

Your investment in our campaign will power the stability, depth and reach of HAAM, and it will keep our vibrant music community alive and well now and far into the future.