A new documentary profiles 14-members of the Voices of Our City Choir who reveal the stories of how they became homeless and their struggles to find housing.
One of those members whose story is told in “The Homeless Chorus Speaks” is John Brady. In the documentary, Brady says he was the victim of a hate crime and self-medicated to deal with the trauma it caused him.
"I didn't feel that I had a purpose in life and that sort of changed with my involvement with the choir," Brady said.
Steph Johnson founded the choir with Nina Leilani Deering.
"It started as just creating a safe space for everybody to meet every other Friday downtown and then it just grew from there," Johnson said.
Brady found the group because he slept outside of the church where the choir was rehearsing. He said he was initially skeptical of joining.
"But ultimately I think I saw the passion and the love that Steph and Nina were providing, the environment and we began to see early on, changes in people's lives and that was a great thing — including my own," Brady said.
“The Homeless Chorus Speaks” is directed and produced by Susan Polis Schutz.
"These are really amazing people telling very personal stories that really come through the screen," Johnson said.
“The Homeless Chorus Speaks” airs on KPBS on Thursday at 8:30 p.m. The film will also be screened at the Central Library on Wednesday, March 28 at 6:45 p.m.
