Coco is a survivor of mental illness, domestic violence,  addiction, and over a decade of collective homeless experience. They have ridden the rails, slept in vans, tents, and trap houses, overcame addiction, been locked up for petty poverty crimes, and parented some terrific children. Throughout, they have remained a loving parent, a brilliant writer and communicator, and a fierce advocate for justice for those experiencing poverty and marginalization.

Paul Sartin is a man who is a welter of contradictions – a spectacularly articulate man who isn’t afraid to throw a punch, someone who loves very deeply but who has been hurt in impossible ways, and who has a rap sheet that says he carries the potential for danger, but who has only ever made me feel safe and protected to have him around. He has overcome mental illness, addiction, prison, and 8 years on the streets, and has been clean, sober, and housed since March of 2020. 

Katy arrived in Springfield fleeing domestic violence and battling active addiction. She sought stability in shelters but was permanently resigned to her car as shelter options expired one by one. She learned first-hand how difficult it is to find safe places that would allow her to park and sleep. Katy achieved sobriety before the pandemic but struggled to keep her commitment to mental health and self-care as an undiagnosed neurodivergent adult. As many as 1 in 7 homeless adults are undiagnosed with developmental neurodivergent conditions that make even an ordinary housed life difficult. Katy boldly uses her experience in tandem with her passion for learning to advocate for herself and those who have struggled to survive on the streets of our city and continue her lifelong search for belonging, making her way in a “community of outcasts” as she did. Katy has been housed for about a year now; however, she is a consumate researcher who is always exploring best practices on addressing homelessness, poverty, disability, and mental illness. Voices and experiences like hers are a desperately needed channel in our community to create effective solutions to improve the quality of life for our unsheltered citizens.

The Springfield Street Choir is a choir for people in Springfield, Missouri who are experiencing homelessness and/or extreme poverty and deprivation. It began in October of 2019 at the erstwhile Connecting Grounds church with just 16 singers, and by the time it was forced to shut down because of the pandemic, had had over 300 homeless singers attend at least one rehearsal, performed for hundreds of people at the Springfield Art Museum and on The Mystery Hour, and been the subject of an award-winning feature-length documentary “Songs from the Streets.” After a not-a-particularly-successful attempt at covid-era choir in a parking garage in late 2020, the Street Choir returned to regular rehearsals in April of 2021 and will be resuming performances soon. Many of the texts in this piece were taken from conversations with its members. 

Ethan D. Bryan is a storyteller whose narratives explore what it means to live a good story. At the age of six, he lost all of his hair due to an immune-system disorder called alopecia. Ethan knows about overcoming personal obstacles and being bullied. He also understands the power of hope, persevering through hundreds upon hundreds of manuscript rejections. The author of ten books, his writings earned him an opportunity to speak at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, an invitation to the White House for the Royals World Series championship, and endorsements from several former MLB players including Jim “The Rookie” Morris. Ethan has appeared ever so briefly in an ESPN 30-for-30 and as a background ballplayer in an Emmy-award winning documentary (First Boys of Spring).  Ethan played catch every single day of 2018, an effort that came to be known as Catch 365 and documented the journey through a daily blog.