Sound Proof: Stories of Transformation

A few months ago, Project Hope launched Sound Proof: Stories of Transformation, a new series of audio podcasts of families struggling to transform their lives and move up and out of poverty.

In the "Not quite five" podcast, we meet "Luz" and her two young children. Luz moved from New York to Boston in 2002 when she "made the decision to leave a marriage that had turned violent." She thought they would be able to temporarily stay with her sister, but "Luz would be back and forth for the next (not quite) five years as she struggled to find affordable housing for her family of three."

In her podcast, Luz talks about her struggles living in transition for nearly five years:

"Not having a house is difficult. No matter how you see it, no matter how you put it, it's difficult not having a house because…I have two kids, and moving into someone's house, and sleeping in someone else's, you know, furniture and having your kids go through all those changes is difficult."

In "A Better Day, A Better Place," you'll meet 58-year-old Marilou DeMontigny who runs a community food bank, travels to Providence, RI to volunteer at a dental clinic serving homeless families, and is a One Family Scholar, studying to become a dental hygienist. The once-homeless, burgeoning leader shares a story of hope, courage, and perseverance:

"That's what life's about. Life's about all these different things changing and things happening and taking everything that's thrown at you and making it the best you can."

The latest podcast in the series, "Being a New Thing," Nadine Lovemore explains she "dreamed of being a writer," but as a youth in Jamaica "she was rarely encouraged to explore her interest in writing. …[S]he began to believe that she would never write—because, she was told, she couldn’t." A challenging move to the United States and motherhood left Nadine stuck, "trapped in low wage jobs and sub-standard housing conditions" until she began studying at Project Hope's Adult Learner Program in 2002. She talks about her nearly five-year journey in the podcast:

"Ever since I was little, I wanted to write. …I wasn't smart. I was one of the kids that was just never smart at all. So, my mom was like, 'You can't write. You can barely read,' so that shut me down. My mother, she had eight of us. Raised up very, very poor in Jamaica…very, very poor. That was hardest thing for me growing up and not having any shoes on my feet, and missing school like that. At one point, I had to take care of my sisters and brothers, so I missed a lot of school."

You can listen to Nadine's powerful story—as well as Luz's and Marilou's—on the Project Hope website, and look for more in the Sound Proof: Stories of Transformation series.

Sound Proof is produced by Libby Conn, in collaboration with the men, women, and children of Project Hope. Libby’s work is supported by the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University, The Philanthropic Initiative, and the Jessica Jennifer Cohen Foundation.