For the final time that he got and stayed clean, it was through SIMS, who paid for his treatment center and sober living. Now he’s training as an MMA fighter at the top gym in the area while simultaneously helping those like him who are now in recovery and getting himself back into playing music professionally. “I owe my recovery to a lot of people,” Trevino says. “But at the top of that list is Patsy and the SIMS Foundation. I don’t know where I’d be if it wasn’t for them. I’m constantly flabbergasted with how happy I am now and what I’ve achieved since recovery.” The SIMS Foundation works with a diverse and vast network of mental health practitioners around the area to provide care at little to no cost. For many musicians, not having insurance means they will be unable to afford mental health care for anything from anxiety to addiction, but SIMS works hard to ensure the care of each client. Leslie Sisson has been working with the SIMS Foundation as a client for almost 10 years. When she first started seeing a therapist to process the unexpected loss of her mother, SIMS helped her find the right person. Then, when Sisson went through the nightmarish experience involving her violent kidnapping, the SIMS Foundation was still there. At first, the state appointed her to a therapist to help her with her post-traumatic stress disorder. But when that ran out, SIMS helped her to find the perfect trauma therapist, and she’s been working with her ever since. Even once Sisson began receiving insurance from her day job, SIMS made sure that she would still be able to see that same therapist. “I was worried this meant I’d no longer be able to see her since she
doesn’t take insurance,” Sisson said. “She’s talked me off so many ledges. I don’t know what would have happened if I had to stop seeing her.” Musicians are some of the most heavily hit when it comes to depression, anxiety and addiction. Not having the ability to get help for these issues only adds to the stress that created them in the first place. “Working to make a living as a musician isn’t glamorous,” Sisson says. “Some people do it because it’s all they know how to do, or, like me, it’s the only thing that gives
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them catharsis. But it’s rough, and it’s not easy on anyone.” Sisson says that with every benefit show she plays, she rarely ever takes a cut of the proceeds. She doesn’t think any musician does unless it’s a small one, because they want to give back as much as they can. “They’ve done so much for us. It’s been hard not being able to play those shows during COVID. I would give them a million dollars and more if I could,” Sisson says. “I can honestly say that if it wasn’t for SIMS, I wouldn’t be here today. And I’m forever grateful.” afm
AU S T I N F I T M AG A Z I N E
