Voices of Our City choir helps veterans experiencing homelessness find their voices and connect to services
by Jill Spear
Since 2017, Voices of Our City has provided life-saving resources, creative programming, and long-term community for San Diegans rebuilding their lives out of homelessness. Veterans face a greater risk of experiencing homelessness and are among the 250-plus San Diegans Voices serves each month. Voices’ internationally renowned choir performs uplifting concerts throughout San Diego to shine a spotlight—and challenge perceptions—on homelessness.
Co-founded by Steph Johnson and Nina Deering, the organization took root when Johnson noticed that homeless people were living outside in her own neighborhood. Johnson, a jazz singer, discovered that many of these individuals were musicians like herself. She began to build the choir, which became a passion project and nonprofit venture.
Voices continues to support veterans in its choir to secure housing, income, and healthcare in addition to offering a unique public platform. Veteran Choir Members share their experiences and stories of resilience through music, creative writing, acting, and advocacy.
“We build a connection through creativity. People learn they’re not alone and they deserve help.”
Shairi Engle, Special Project Coordinator, Voices of Our City
A creative highlight for the choir came in 2020, when Voices of Our City won the Golden Buzzer Award on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent,” bringing national acclaim and renewed attention to the issue of homelessness. This raised the choir’s public profile, but its goal remains the same: providing choir members with hope and personal empowerment through music and community.
“We build a connection through creativity,” says Shairi Engle, special project coordinator for Voices of Our City. “People learn they’re not alone and they deserve help.”
A veteran of the U.S. Air Force who struggled with post-traumatic stress disorder and homelessness, Engle has a deeply personal understanding of the pain and challenges many veterans face. “I went through this dark time; I had no language for what I was experiencing. I had to claw my way back.”
An award-winning playwright, Engle brings her empathy for others to her work. “I immediately felt so aligned with the people in the choir. We all understand how precarious life can be at times.”
With her encouragement, the choir is exploring new creative avenues, including writing, painting and poetry. “The work I create is all about popping the isolation bubble. Now I get to write and create things that support other people,” she says.
“More and more, we’re writing our own songs, which are about affirmation and encouragement,” Engle adds. “Though they’re about people in the weeds of life, they inspire others no matter what their background is.”
Housed at St. Paul’s Episcopal Cathedral in San Diego, Voices of Our City is open to anyone who’d like to join. The choir now has a music manager who provides vocal assessments and coaching for each singer.
For Engle and the choir members she inspires, the nonprofit is a safe space to connect and create. “These are long-term relationships. There’s a layer of support through this community that goes beyond human services. It’s a family.”
“The shadows will always be there,” she concludes. “But working with Voices has helped me to recognize that the shadows are there to help us pay attention to the light.”
For more information on Voices of Our City, go to www.voicesofourcity.org.
