What’s Happening

Dr. Grant Drake is a retired clinical psychiatrist and the President of the Lost Voices Board of Directors. For years he has provided steady leadership, along with invaluable clinical insights as we have continued to grow and refine our process. We thought you should get acquainted with Dr. Drake in his own words. 

I grew up in the Northeast and came to the University of Michigan for my psychiatric training and stayed in Ann Arbor for my career and to raise our three kids. Because my psychiatric training began in the early 1970s, there was more emphasis on psychotherapy techniques rather than on medications, so my practice also focused more on that. 

Before I fully retired in 2019, most of my work was private practice in Ann Arbor, but in my last 10 years I worked halftime at the Women’s HuronValley State Prison in Ypsilanti. Those years helped me understand how childhood trauma, abuse, or neglect so often create a pathway to prison unless the kids receive sufficient interventions to alter that path. The Lost Voices songwriting process can offer a powerful intervention by fostering self-esteem and a strong connection to the creative process and to fellow participants. (more…)

If you are 70 1/2 or older you can contribute to Lost Voices from your IRA and avoid paying taxes on that withdrawal. By directing a “Qualified Charitable Distribution” (QCD)  to Lost Voices, that full amount will be sent to Lost Voices and will not be considered taxable income to you. Your donation will help to satisfy your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD).

For Example: Suppose your Required Minimum Distribution this year is $30,000. If you are in the 20% tax bracket, you will pay $6,000 in federal taxes for that withdrawal. But if you direct a $10,000 Qualified Charitable Contribution to Lost Voices that full amount will go to support our work and you need only withdraw $20,000. Your federal tax on your IRA withdrawal will be $4,000, not $6,000.

You can do this with a simple call to your financial advisor or plan administrator, telling them that you want to send a Qualified Charitable Contribution to Lost Voices, 650 Church St., Suite 206, Plymouth MI 48170.

This group song, called “Memories,” was written by an exceptional group of young women in a program last year:

I’m seeking memories
To get away from all
The negativity

I sleep the day away
To try to stay away
From negativity

I’m feeling restless
From what was done to me
Before recovering
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People sometimes think that what we do with the Lost Voices kids is music therapy. It is certainly related, in that our work does completely revolve around the deeply therapeutic aspects of music. We initially developed our process back in 2006 in a facility that had an on-site music therapist, and she found that it interfaced perfectly with her treatment goals.

Lost Voices actually employs a different process than traditional music therapy. While we consistently use and collaborate with the youth in musical tones and rhythms, our real focus is on verbal expression. We concentrate on the lyrics, offering the kids a freedom to verbalize their feelings in ways that they may have rarely experienced. 

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For nearly two decades we’ve been writing songs with young men and women who are fighting to recover from trauma. We work to give them a safe, non-judgmental space to explore their feelings.

The kids write individual songs, and they write collaborative songs in which the whole group agrees on every word and note. Then they go on stage with us to perform their work. Over the years we have accumulated many amazing masterpieces from these young souls.

This is a heartfelt song called “Stay Strong,” written early this summer. In it the girls have captured the idea that life can be hard and painful, but that if you choose to battle through the pain and stand up, the process can make you better. And Strong.

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It’s easy to view the arts as a luxury rather than a fundamental necessity of life. It’s undeniable that food, water, and shelter are necessary for basic survival.

But if you want to get a sense of how deeply art is embedded in the human experience,  just watch and listen to a baby, yet to utter their first word, self-soothing by singing in a rhythm, melody, and language all their own. Consider how many times you’ve dealt with your own happiness, anger, or sadness by listening to – or singing – a particular song. Music is a universal language we all use in different ways to cope with a world we can’t always control. (more…)

For nearly two decades we’ve been writing group songs with young men and women who are fighting to recover from trauma. We work to give them a safe, non-judgmental space to explore their feelings.

Over the years the kids have produced a mountain of amazing and unforgettable work. They have written sad songs, happy songs, hopeful songs, and – every now and then – goofy songs. Sometimes the songs are all of these things.

Here’s a really sweet and wonderful song called “Colors,” written over the course of two sessions earlier this year. I feel like the kids have captured a complete range of emotions, from sadness to a powerful message of hope and healing. (more…)

The kids we work with are struggling to find themselves after enduring all sorts of hardship, so it stands to reason that they can be volatile. You might assume that the staff who works with these young people every day sometimes get numb or indifferent to them. In my experience, the opposite is true. The staff I know are dedicated to do a tough job, because these young lives are worth it.

A case in point is “Ms Erinn.” At our last concert, she read a poem and asked Kitty to sing a song she had written that was inspired by the kids. She explained it this way:

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Many years ago I was a freshman in college, trying to figure out how to cross over as a performer from rock and roll to folk music. My mentor-from-a-distance was a talented young musician named Josh White, Jr. who was doing amazing guitar work on his father’s records. Fast-forward to 2006, when I had the opportunity to start Lost Voices. The first person I recruited to work with me was that same Josh White, Jr.

When I told Josh my idea of therapeutic songwriting with troubled teenagers, he was convinced that I was completely out of my mind. He also agreed to help me give it a try. Then for the next two decades, he partnered with me to help make Lost Voices what it is today.

On December 27, 2024, Josh White, Jr. (Donnie to his friends) left this world for the Next Great Adventure.

I can honestly say that I have never known a more loving spirit. His gentle soul inspired everyone who met him. His voice carried the songs he sang into our hearts. He had an infectious booming laugh that could brighten any room. (more…)

Trauma, whether it stems from abuse, personal loss, or other life-altering events, can leave deep emotional scars. Lost Voices is in the business of helping kids deal with this sort of trauma, and we often talk about that in terms of bringing them “hope and healing.” This is a good way to describe it, but there is a way of thinking and talking about what we do that is actually a lot more accurate. 

We help them build resilience.

Resilience in this context is defined as the ability to adapt and recover from adversity. Building resilience is not about avoiding stress or hardship – it’s about developing the capacity to cope with the hardship, and hopefully to emerge from the experience stronger than before. (more…)