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As most Lost Voices supporters probably know by now, many of the young people we work with are survivors of human trafficking. What you may not know is that many of those kids did not understand that what happened to them would be considered trafficking. One reason for this is the large body of misunderstanding about this serious problem.

The phrase “Human Trafficking” often conjures up images of children kidnapped off the street, snatched from the mall, or smuggled across borders in windowless trucks. These circumstances are not completely unknown, but they are rare. The realities of trafficking are no less disturbing, but they are very different from what you might expect. Here are a few of the common myths we encounter and the actual facts:

Myth
Human trafficking involves transporting a person across state or national borders. Michigan has a major trafficking problem because of its borders with Canada.

Fact
Human trafficking is often confused with human smuggling, which involves illegal border crossings. In fact, the crime of human trafficking does not require any movement whatsoever. Survivors can be recruited and trafficked in their own home towns, even their own homes. Of the hundreds of young people Lost Voices has worked with over the years, we know of three who were born outside of the United States. In writing about their experiences, none of them mentioned being coerced or smuggled into the country. (more…)

The kids write sad songs, happy songs, hopeful songs, and goofy songs. Sometimes they are all of these things. Here’s an especially poignant song written by a group earlier this spring.

Walk Through The Door

Today I hate, tomorrow I hurt
I feel like the rocks in the dirt
Most days I feel drained, sometimes I have faith
Heartbreak today, respect tomorrow

Sometimes I’m broken, sometimes I’m healed
Sometimes I’m open, sometimes concealed (more…)

If you’ve been involved with Lost Voices for any length of time, you have probably heard about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs). The kids we work with have all experienced ACEs, such as physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, neglect, or household dysfunction. Left alone, these traumas can lead to a lifetime of mental and physical problems. The good news, and the main reason the Lost Voices experience can be so important to the kids, is that damage from ACEs can actually be mitigated or reversed by Positive Childhood Experiences, or PCEs.

The positive psychological effects of PCEs have been thoroughly explored and documented by a number of mental health experts. Generally speaking, PCEs involve situations in which a young person feels able to freely express their feelings with people they trust. They feel a sense of belonging and community. They feel supported by peers. They have non-parent adults who take a genuine, non-transactional interest in them. They receive authentic positive reinforcement for their accomplishments.

Sound familiar? It should. All of these elements are core principles of the Lost Voices process. (more…)

The Lost Voices kids constantly amaze us with the incredible song lyrics they write. Sometimes the songs are sad, sometimes they’re happy, sometimes they’re hopeful, sometimes they’re goofy, and sometimes they are all of these things. For the privacy and protection of the kids, we can’t show you their faces, and we can’t let you hear their individual voices. But the songs they write and sing as a group are safe to share, and shed a light on their struggles and successes. This one is one of our favorites, because it’s silly and deeply insightful at the same time.

Amazing Paper

All the amazing things
You can do with paper
There’s no limit because
You’re the creator

Draw a landscape, a cat, a bunny, or a teddy bear.
Draw a monkey on a pony, galloping with fleas in his hair. (more…)

One question people ask about our Lost Voices work is some variation of, “What is your success rate?” That question is both difficult to answer, and very easy to answer. First, I’ll tackle the hard part.

Any kind of therapeutic work can be really tough to measure objectively. There are countless things going on in anyone’s life that make their psychological health incredibly complicated. That’s especially true when you add years of unresolved trauma to the mix. A therapist works to a long term treatment plan, and has various tools to assess progress. But even in this sort of ongoing professional evaluation, real change in the client often goes beyond any of the numbers. 

For the past few years we’ve been working with the CASCAID Group at the University of Michigan School of Nursing to develop ways to measure the effectiveness of our time with the kids. We gather information mostly through interviews with the youth in the program and with facility staff. This gives us valuable insight into how the Lost Voices experience is perceived. What we don’t get to do is follow the overall  progress of the kids from day to day over a long period of time.

Now for the easy part. I can honestly say that our true success rate is 100%. (more…)

One thing about the Lost Voices kids that constantly amazes us is the incredible song lyrics they come up with. Sometimes the songs are sad, sometimes they’re happy, sometimes they’re hopeful, sometimes they’re goofy, and sometimes they are all of these things. For the privacy and protection of the kids, we can’t show you their faces, and we can’t let you hear their individual voices. But the songs they write and sing as a group are safe to share, and shed a light on their struggles and successes.

Finding Hope

Trying to find our way home
We have made so much growth
We are still seeking hope
Light at the end of the road

Trying to find our way home
My mind is telling me no
But still I try to find hope
Light at the end of the road (more…)

Since 2006, when Lost Voices first began writing songs with troubled kids, we have seen that songwriting can be a powerful tool for healing trauma. In fact, I think it’s likely that every musician has experienced this healing on some level, working through whatever their own pain may be and finding solace in their music. 

But how, exactly, does that work?

First, creating music allows individuals to express their emotions in a unique way. When words alone fall short, songwriting provides an outlet to explore complex feelings, including those related to trauma. The act of channeling feelings into lyrics and putting them to music can become a powerful form of emotional release. (more…)

We closed out 2023 on a high note, figuratively and literally, at Vista Maria. A few of the kids made comments about how tough the holidays can be for them. That’s pretty easy to understand, since residential placement has them away from whatever familiar Holiday traditions they may have had in their lives. They also said that sharing their feelings in song made the season a little easier. Seeing their smiles and enthusiasm on stage at the end of the week was a gift. While we can’t show you those smiles, we can stage the scene for you. (more…)

Lost Voices once again received a generous grant from Eagles for Children which will help us fund upcoming programs! Lost Voices founder Mike Ball and Associate Director Gretchen Pleuss had the honor of being asked to write, record, and perform their original song, “Lighthouse” for the Eagles for Children Awards Ceremony. You can listen to it here.

Eagles for Children is a charity that pools donations from participating country clubs in Michigan whose members donate a few dollars every time any member scores an eagle. For the non-golfers, an eagle is when you score two strokes under par on a hole. In 2023, Eagles for Children raised a total of $1,337,540, all of which benefited children’s charities such as Lost Voices. Pretty incredible!

It only takes a few of us to pick them up
It only takes a moment’s time
It only takes a little love to fill their cup
To heal their bodies and their minds (more…)

Our founder was honored as a 2023 CNN Hero. Here he is making music with talented rapper J-Money, AKA Jerrell Moore. Jerrell was a teenager when he wrote this rap to express his feelings more than ten years ago in a Lost Voices program.