Our Story

We are the students of the advanced music production class at the Media Arts Collaborative Charter School in Albuquerque, NM.  On April 10 of 2010, we lost a fellow student, Haley Paternoster, age 16, who overdosed on heroin.  She was in a coma for several days before she died, in her fathers arms.  We found out that Haley was just one of many teens to die from heroin overdose here in New Mexico.  In fact, New Mexico leads the nation in teen overdose from opiates.  We want to change that.  We decided to produce an album of original hip-hop aimed at educating teens about the dangers of heroin.  The title track, Haley We Miss You, is available at soundoven.soundcloud.com.  We want to add to the impact this album can have by producing a music video of the title track.  We will then press the album and video as an enhanced DVD that will include information about heroin addiction and resources for teens looking for help.  Our goal is to distribute this DVD at no cost to every school in the city of Albuquerque.  Schools can use the DVD as a learning tool to help raise awareness.  We will also use the DVD as a fundraising tool to raise funds for further media projects that address the needs of at-risk youth.  We miss Haley and we don't want to lose any more friends.  Please help us.

The Impact

In the last several years, heroin has surpassed cocaine and meth as the fastest growing drug problem amongst New Mexico youth.  30% of high school students reported that heroin was "easy to get" close to their school.  It is estimated $300,000 worth of heroin is sold in Albuquerque alone every day.  The number of deaths from heroin overdose has more than tripled since 1990.  Most teens start out using prescription opiates like Oxycontin then graduate to heroin when the pills become too expensive.  As a result, when compared to cocaine and meth, there is little awareness amongst teens about the extreme danger of heroin use. Unless something is done to raise awareness in the teen population, more and more and more young people will have their lives destroyed like Haley.

What We Need & What You Get

The money we are requesting is to cover production expenses such as equipment rental, transportation and set costs.  It will also cover post production costs such as editing and DVD mastering, artwork and printing.  Finally, it will cover distribution costs and publicity costs incurred in maximizing the reach of this media project into the youth population.  Haley's father, Steve Paternoster has pledged to cover the cost of the audio mastering CD duplication, up to 5000 dollars.  This project will go forward no matter what amount of money we receive.  But the more support we receive, the more impact the project can have.  All money will be received and distributed by the MACCS foundation board, a 503c non-profit, and will be earmarked for this project only.

Other Ways You Can Help

Share this campaign via your social media accounts.  Go to our blog at thesoundoven.wordpress.com and like and subscribe for updates on the process and sneak previews, and join our facebook group, Haley we miss you.  Also, download and share the song "Haley We Miss You" from soundoven.soundcloud.com and link back to this site.