Army Captain Drew Ferguson was one remarkable Green Beret. Before serving as a Team Leader in Special Forces in Afghanistan, he had spent 14 months in combat as an Infantry Officer with the 10th Mountain Division in Iraq. He came home with three Bronze Stars and became an accomplished painter, poet, and musician. He also became a big supporter of the non-profit I founded, Music on a Mission.
Music on a Mission enriches and transforms the lives of people of all ages with disability, from young children in schools to seniors in nursing homes. We have choirs for nonverbal children and adults with dementia. We brings oldies bands to Louis Stokes VA Hospital in Cleveland where the music triggers memories and emotions, easing residents’ isolation and depression.
Captain Drew supported all this work faithfully, believing strongly in the healing power of music.
Then, in July of 2017 he took his own life.
In response, Music on a Mission started a new line of programming in his memory called Project DREW (Delivering Restorative Energy to our Warriors) to help veterans share their stories through song. In so doing, they release pain and reconnect with community.
Project DREW involves pairing each veteran one-on-one with a songwriter, who talks with the veteran and listen to their story. The songwriter then crafts a song conveying that story in tribute to their service. The songs are recorded and shared through CDs, concerts, and social media, which also helps to build awareness in the community of the challenges faced by our returning service members.
Project DREW helps veterans on their “journey home.”
Our society often sends warriors off to fight and then welcomes them home, though we have little understanding of the transformations wrought military training and war. Reintegration into society—so critical to healing—is a burden that should be shared by the community and not carried by the veteran alone.
Many who have gone through Project DREW say the setting and program made them feel safe, authentic, and filled with compassion. These feelings enable them then to share their stories with a wider circle of people.
We hold our workshops at Barnegie Hall in Cleveland, an old barn renovated into a music venue. The number of veterans and songwriters working is capped at 12 all together. We’ve had 31 workshops so far, with our next one scheduled for March 1-2, 2025.
As one veteran put it: “When you can share your story, communicate with other people, share who you are and what you went through, a little bit of that weight is carried by someone else.”
We have funds set aside for any veteran who wants to participate. We will pay his/her expenses for the weekend: food, hotel, transportation. We know that social support is a protective factor for suicide, so one of our goals is to connect veterans to each other and to us. Many of Captain Drew’s Special Forces unit have gone through the process. And they keep coming back, every year, to see each other and support the new participants. We know the project is working.
Listen to the songs, read the stories and join us!
