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October 26, 2011 in City
Voiceless not friendless
Homelessness brought woman, children into new community, deeper compassion
Kemper Rojas reads from the script during a rehearsal of the Voiceless Choir on Monday at Emmanuel Family Center. Rojas is a board member and participates in the programs.
(Full-size photo)(All photos)
Two and a half years ago, Bridget Bradick and her children stepped off a train in Spokane as refugees from domestic violence and stumbled into poverty and homelessness.
She left Ohio to start anew with four children in a town she chose at random from a list of cities she knew nothing about except that they were far from her former husband.
Today, Bradick, the subject of a May 2009 Spokesman-Review article, has climbed out of indigence with help from a friend she met along the way.
“I think I had to go through that, being homeless, to be here today,” said Bradick, 45. “I had to take this walk to see who I really am. It made me stronger, independent.”
Bradick said she used to look down on the homeless, who she always assumed were that way through some fault of their own. Being homeless herself changed that view.
“It opened my mind and my eyes to what’s going on in the world,” she said.
A survey by the U.S. Conference of Mayors identified domestic violence as a primary cause of homelessness. About 63 percent of homeless women have experienced domestic violence, according to the Network to End Domestic Violence.
A month after arriving in Spokane in February 2009, Bradick depleted her savings on hotel rooms and microwaveable meals. The family’s luck began to change on St. Patrick’s Day when the Bradicks were taken in by Interfaith Hospitality, now Family Promise of Spokane, a nonprofit coalition of churches that since 1997 has helped more than 350 families in similar circumstances.
The organization provided case management that helped the family connect with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, food assistance, WorkSource, Medicaid and supplemental dental care – all services that have since been diminished by budget cuts.
The family was sheltered in the organization’s participating churches and transitional housing before moving into a northeast Spokane home with the help of federal rental assistance. Even after securing housing, Bradick’s family struggled while she searched for work that paid a living wage.
“Sometimes I feel bad because they had to walk the walk with me,” Bradick said of her children. “They all appreciated what we have and where we came from.”
She recalled her surprise one day when her oldest son, Zach, a 10th-grader at Rogers High School, told her he knew at least 10 homeless teenagers in his school.
“Some kid was talking bad about the homeless, and Zach spoke up and said, ‘If you haven’t walked the walk, you have no business putting us down,’ ” she said.
On another occasion her kindergartener, Nate, piled all his old clothes on a table and said, “Can we give these to Interfaith?”
Even after leaving Interfaith Hospitality, the family continued to participate in HeartSongs from the Voiceless, a choir of homeless and formerly homeless people organized by the Rev. Michael Rice-Sauer, called Redhawk, pastor at Covenant Christian Church.
The group, known as the Voiceless Choir, provides a sense of community to homeless families and brings public awareness to their condition through the performing arts.
It was at a rehearsal for the Voiceless Choir last Christmas that Bradick met Kemper Rojas, treasurer for the nonprofit organization. Rojas is a managing partner of Fruci & Associates, a Spokane accounting firm.
Rojas, 33, married with two children, comes from a very different background than Bradick. At first she felt out of place and self-conscious at the Voiceless Choir. But she continues to come each week with her 10-year-old son, Bowe.
“It’s eye-opening for my son,” she said. Bowe understands that other children are not as fortunate as he is. “When someone’s eyes are opened to it, they are less selfish.”
One day Redhawk gave Rojas a speaking part in a skit with Bradick, and soon she realized that “it’s only by the grace of God” what path we walk in life.
“You think, ‘It couldn’t happen to me.’ But looking at her I can see how it could happen,” Rojas said.
Bradick’s family shared Rojas’ discomfort, too, at first.
“Me and my kids were all homeless,” she said. The children saw she was not like their family and they gave Rojas “a hard time because they didn’t trust her.”
Then one day, Redhawk came to Bradick and said Rojas wanted to offer her a position at Fruci & Associates.
It was Christmas, Rojas said, and she was thinking about what she could do for Bradick’s family.
“It dawned on me the best gift would be to give Bridget a job,” she said. She got approval from her partners to offer a temporary job to Bradick, whose only real job skill was as a cook.
Without computer skills and with no clothes appropriate for office work, Bradick would have to earn a permanent position at Fruci & Associates. Rojas took Bradick clothes shopping, and other employees taught her what she needed to know to be an administrative assistant.
“I was eager to learn,” Bradick said, “and they made me feel at home there.”
In May, Bradick became a full-time employee, making a little above minimum wage, but unlike other jobs she has held she now has hope for pay increases and a real career.
But with opportunity comes other challenges. Because her income increased, Bradick saw her share of her subsidized rent rise from $91 to $400 a month.
“She’s not a charity case at our firm,” Rojas said. “She works for her money.”
In the upcoming performance of HeartSongs from the Voiceless, Rojas and Bradick will switch roles in a skit re-enacting Bradick’s flight from domestic abuse. Redhawk will lead the choir in a performance of “Run for Your Life,” a song Bradick helped write.
As for any debt of gratitude, there is an agreement between the two women not to pay back what has been given, but to “pay it forward” to some other family that Bradick may have the chance to help.
More than the clothes, more than the job, more than the opportunity, Bradick said, Rojas saw “something in me I didn’t see in myself.”
Rights panel poorly understood 
ChefGus/ John Olsen on October 26 at 5:06 a.m.
Thank you for this article Kevin… domestic violence and abuse in families is the deep secret so many keep to themselves. The terrorists we really need to be afraid of are the one’s living in our own homes and next door with our neighbors. The level of abuse varies, and circumstances are all unique… but the control exerted by one person on family unit’s is wide spread and belies the “family values” crowd stated beliefs, vs their actions. john
Scoutster on October 26 at 7:39 a.m.
Great story.
Is “switching rolls” something they do at deceptive bakeries, too?
Welcome_Black_Carter on October 26 at 9:21 a.m.
No fault of her own? She had four kids, then decided “Oh, I’m with an abusive partner, I need to leave.” She is 100% responsible for where she ended up. Life is nothing but choices, she chose her path. Great news she is now a hardworking productive citizen, with lots of help. Entire situation could have been avoided by better choices, ie in men, and in education/working skills.
Diana on October 26 at 10:09 a.m.
Ahh… the missing link has arrived.
How judgmental you are, Carter, when you know nothing about all the details of her circumstances.
melabur on October 26 at 10:09 a.m.
Welcome, judge not lest ye be judged! Clearly you have no ability to think outside of the box and comprehend that things happen that people really don’t have any control over or ability to predict. It is possible that Ms. Bradick married someone who was generally an upstanding citizen who drank a little to begin with, but later lost their ability to control their drinking and became abusive, delusional, etc. and refused to address the problem. (I’ve been there, done that, but was fortunate to have a good job to sustain me.) Her mate may have developed a mental/emotional illness that couldn’t be predicted. (Bipolar disorder can be triggered later in life, or hide behind certain behaviors until it can’t be hidden any longer and people go completely off the deep end.) It does happen! Then there’s the millions of people who are born to people who shouldn’t be having children, then grow up in terrible circumstances. Are those children supposed to know how to make good choices? Is their inability to do so their fault? I really think it would be a wonderful thing for you to volunteer to help with the choir, or with Interfaith Hospitality so that meeting people who are in crisis might provide a ladder for you to use in climbing down off your great big high horse!
Welcome_Black_Carter on October 26 at 10:22 a.m.
yup, Melabur, all things you stated are possible and all would have my sympathies. I do understand how life works. I have had bad luck and been in bad situations as well. Regardless, life is made of choices. I don’t judge her, but she is her own person.
FYI I do volunteer frequently in spokane….not specifically at Interfaith but at other organizations. I can still have my opinion that people are responsible for thier own lives, and help out as my time etc allows. I’m not judging just stating my opinion.
Hunterman on October 26 at 10:37 a.m.
Sounds to me like she was taking responsibility. She was a victim and got out of there the best way she knew how. Thankfully for her there are people that don’t have the Rush Limbaugh attitude.
Gato on October 26 at 10:43 a.m.
“Life is made of choices”? Seriously? Life is 99 percent luck, or bad luck, as the case may be, starting with the circumstances of your birth and continuing on to death.
If you accept the precariousness, it’s hard to avoid empathy—although some here seem to manage.
reservedparking on October 26 at 11:04 a.m.
It’s Family Promise of Spokane, not Family Partners.
Glad she escaped her bad situation & has a better future.
kevingr on October 26 at 11:12 a.m.
Yes, it’s Family Promise of Spokane. I regret the error, which has been corrected above.
Welcome_Black_Carter on October 26 at 1:02 p.m.
Yes Gato…life is the result of choices for 99.9% of people. Get real. Luck is what you make of it. If you want good luck, work hard and make good choices. Don’t make yourself a victim. Yes, some are victims regardless and they fall in that small percentage. This woman may or may not be in that group, I don’t have all the info on her situ and don’t pretend to.
Gato if life is not made of choices, what is it?
Bruce (aka thatoneguy) on October 26 at 3:42 p.m.
So she looked at the situation she was in, took responsibility, made some choices, got the hell out of town and started a new life. Had some help, and thanks to that help + her own efforts is doing better now. Sounds like an inspiring story to me, about a person who deserves a huge amount of respect.
“Welcome_Black” sounds like the kind of person who, if they know someone who struggled to lose weight and then finally managed to do it, will helpfully point out that their problem all along was that they were eating too much.
bradick_d on October 27 at 1:18 p.m.
@welcome black carter: bradick is my mother and how dare you judge her without knowing the entire situation/story …. u may say you are stating your opinion but if that is the case than u are a IGNORANT person ! put yourself in there shoes before you go running at the mouth like you know something. my mother is a strong women who works HARD to support her family, and has ALWAYS worked hard to do so!!!!!!! and its people like you black carter that discourage ppl like my mom to get help and change when they need to . my mother was scared that no one wld help her , but i am gratefully thankful for the ppl who helped guide her through something she couldnt get through herself ….. it takes a strong women to get thru and past something like this so unless U HAVE WALKED A MILE IN HER SHOES THAN U DONT KNOW… DO YOU???? didnt your mother teach u if u have nothing nice to say than dont say anything at all…. it really hurts to see someone so ignorant and self absorbed try and talk about something they have no clue about …. next time word yourself better … just sayin> and btw i love my mother and my family and if we didnt go thru what we did than maybe we wldnt be the ppl we are today and i wld never change that bc i have learned from life lessons they only make us stronger as ppl , god has plans for everyone u may choose ur path but where u end up is up to him…….
bradick_d on October 27 at 1:22 p.m.
and thank you everyone else for being supportive !!!!! god bless!!
ChefGus/ John Olsen on October 28 at 5:28 a.m.
Braddik_D… thank you for being brave enough to step in and post here…. I was taught on the King County Crisis line that on average it takes seven attempts to get free from an abusive partner/spouse…. and the highest risk is the actual time that you are leaving…. those several days you are most at risk for homicide…. I am not an advocate of retribution type violence…But… my favorite movie on this topic is “Sleeping With The Enemy” with Julia Roberts … any one who wants to gain some insight into domestic abuse and violence would do well to watch this movie… ( and try and keep from applauding at the end:)) best regards… and best wishes for your own relationships… the “family template” is very powerful…and very difficult to escape. John Olsen
bgb216 on October 28 at 8:25 a.m.
Bradick_d…. what can i say? i love you,your sister and brothers, i am a stronger person today because of all of you too!!! dont let people like black carter get under your skin, like you said,they have no idea,they are ignorant!!!! all that matters is we made it ,sure we got knocked down,kicked along the way, but ….. we stayed strong and have always,always been there for each other. i am proud that you are not only my daughter, but my best friend