Homeless take center stage on CD

Three years ago, a sport utility vehicle T-boned Pamela Roberts’ middle-class life.

The car crash caused debilitating injuries that transformed her future into a struggle for survival. As her bills piled up, she nearly became homeless.

“I just never realized what that five seconds was going to do to the rest of my life,” Roberts said.

Roberts, the mother of a daughter, 7, and son, 11, wrote and recorded a song about her experiences called “No Tomorrow.” The song is part of a new CD titled “The Voiceless Among Us,” a collection of songs and poems about homelessness.

About 40 at-risk men, women and children, age 3 and older, shared stories and feelings that became songs and poems, which the group performs.

“I was totally surprised that no matter what your situation was before, when you need help you end up with this stigma that says, ‘You’re poor, you’re nothing,’ ” Roberts said.

The man behind the project is Redhawk, also known as the Rev. Michael Rice Sauer of Covenant Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) at 57th and Palouse Highway.

He contacted Spokane Neighborhood Action Programs, which found a group of homeless volunteers to participate. Using a portable recording studio that his congregation allowed him to purchase in lieu of his taking a church-sponsored sabbatical, Redhawk spent about 400 hours collaborating on songs, writing, recording and mixing music for the CD.

As a spiritual leader, songwriter, musician and poet, Redhawk hopes the endeavor will put a human voice on the problem of homelessness.

“We minimize people by not paying attention to who they are,” Redhawk said.

The CD is available for $12.99 through Auntie’s Bookstore and Borders. It’s also available through SNAP (456-7111) and Covenant Christian Church (448-1311). Money raised will benefit SNAP programs for the homeless.

The group started meeting in February and recording wrapped up in November. As the creative process unfolded, Redhawk uncovered stories of heartache and triumph. He wanted to capture the children’s joy and sadness, which reshaped his views of society.

“It feels very much like every man for himself and women and children be damned,” Redhawk said. “I don’t think God is going to let us get away with that.”

Jennifer Martin, east office coordinator for SNAP, said some families moved from short-term transitional housing into permanent housing as the “Voiceless” project progressed.

During the course of performing together, a core group of seven families bonded into a community, Martin recalls. Women cooked meals and shared experiences as their children played and drew pictures together. A drawing by 9-year-old Katie Van Voorhis became the CD’s cover.

The CD opens with a choir of children cheerfully counting down into a whimsical song about planets.

From there, listeners enter an adult world with spine-tingling lyrics about a woman’s battle to find self-identity while the world just stares: “You just pass me by. I see you shake your head, like I’m already dead – homeless.”

Ten-year-old Harley Bates’ poem, “Magic and Life,” shares his dream of helping poor people by pulling money, food and happiness out of a magician’s hat.

In “No Tomorrow,” Roberts says at age 29 “things were going fine.” As the song continues, her life deteriorates. Frightened and alone, the chorus asks, “Where will we go and where will we be with no tomorrow?”

Looking back, Roberts, who lacked health insurance at the time of the accident, recalls having up to 11 doctor and therapist appointments each week and spending $500 a month on prescriptions. Her son is asthmatic and has a foot disability and the bills were overwhelming.

After losing her job, she fell behind on rent and utilities. The family was in danger of getting evicted when Roberts started seeking help. One state worker after another turned down her requests and told her to take her kids to a homeless shelter.

“You are treated like you are just nothing, like you have no place in society,” Roberts explained.

When she was referred to SNAP, Roberts, who considers herself a strong person, was at the end of her rope.

“You can only take it for so long, it’s just so hard,” Roberts recalled. “SNAP said, ‘Oh God, you need some help’ and that was the turning point right there.”

SNAP moved Roberts and her family into a transitional apartment, then into a permanent assisted rental unit that eventually qualified for assistance through the Spokane Housing Authority. They repaired her car and enrolled her in classes to learn to deal with her new financial situation.

Roberts used her experience as the former operations manager of Express Personnel Services to teach a SNAP class that helps people find employment. From there, she lent her voice to the CD.

More than anything, she wants people to see themselves in the CD’s music and poetry. “Everybody needs to look around and say, ‘What do I have to give?’ Because someday that might be me.”

As Roberts, now a college student, struggles to reinvent her life while dealing with intense pain, her vocal legacy implores people not to look away.

“So when you see someone on the street with holy shoes upon their feet. Please remember. …”