Not long ago Kitty Donohoe, Jen Cass, and I spent a week writing songs with a group of boys and girls between the ages of six and fourteen at the Whaley Children’s Center in Flint, Michigan. All of these children are in foster care, and all are struggling to recover from severe emotional trauma. We were there to help change their lives.
We wrote about skateboarding, and fairies, and about how cold the world can be. We wrote about how a car can’t get you into heaven, and about wishing you could be with your mother all the time. We wrote about water skiing behind a pirate ship, and how it feels to be abandoned by everyone you’ve ever loved. They explored some of their deepest feelings, sometimes directly, and sometimes weaving unimaginable pain and sadness in with layers of youthful silliness. They are, after all, children.
Then on Friday, June 28, these kids stood up, proud and terrified, and performed their work for a crowd of peers, teachers, therapists, and caregivers. And the waves of heartfelt applause from the crowd gave those children a moment of personal growth and absolute triumph that they will never forget. Driving home from Flint after that show it occurred to me, as it often does, that the Lost Voices journey is all focused on that pinnacle of stage-fright, joy, and profoundly healing transformation the kids had just gone through.
All the fundraising, the benefit concerts, the media interviews, the speaking engagements, the pledge drives, the meetings, and the committees have just one purpose – to give those courageous young boys and girls a chance to step up to the microphones and to discover themselves in a whole new light. Anyone who witnesses the kids’ performance, especially the staff and therapists at the facilities in which we work, can clearly see the personal breakthroughs the kids experience. We all know that each of them has taken a giant step toward recovering from the trauma that has shaped their young lives.
I’ve transcribed the lyrics from some of the songs the kids at Whaley came up with, and posted them online at lostvoices.org/our-work. I regret that the need for absolute privacy for the kids means I can’t let you hear their voices or see their beautiful faces (the pictures on this page are stock photographs, not the actual youth in the program) but I hope reading their words will give you at least a glimpse of how amazing these children really are. And all of you folks who have been there to support our work over the past twelve years have had a hand in making it happen.
Thank you! – mike
As a former therapist I was so amazed by the concert I saw at Vista Maria. I had worked with youth in correctional facilities and a program such as this helps them make tremendous strides.
Thank you to the amazing musicians who give their time, talents and compassion to the youths the world has been very unkind to. I hope this program can grow and continue to support these youths.