How this sisterhood of London, Ont., women who've lived rough finds hope and healing through music

Every Thursday afternoon, the All Our Sisters Choir can be heard singing their favourite songs while sitting at a roundtable and cheering each other on.

The women fondly refer to one another as sisters, bound together by their shared love of music and lived experiences of being homeless in London, Ont.

"It's a sense of belonging, togetherness and community," said choir member Tina Dobson. "We would be lost if we didn't have this group to share our joy with other people who don't have family members or aren't able to get out" of having no permanent home.

Dobson was one of the first to join the choir when it began in August at My Sister's Place and has since recruited several other members. For many members, the choir has given them their chosen family and a way to heal from the dark pasts that brought them to the shelter. 

"This is a great group of sisterhood. We help each other out, we support each other and we have a lot of laughs," she said. 

The choir's first performance was at the annual All Our Sisters national conference on women and homelessness in London last month. They sang a powerful song that shares the forum's name and brought the crowd to tears, said choir director Darlene Zaifman-Guslits. 

"The song is called All Our Sisters and was written for the original conference back in 2011. The lyrics are so impactful — they speak to so many women who experience homelessness," she said.

"The violence, the fear, the unknown and the poverty. It's a very moving song and every single woman who sang it for the first time cried because it spoke to them in some way."

'Homelessness can happen to anybody'

Dobson said music runs through her veins and singing takes her to a happy place.

"My family members were all musically inclined. My grandfather was a drummer, my mom used to sing and there was always music in our house. So whenever I'm feeling blue, I just put on music and it makes me happy and takes the stress away."  

Being together gives the women, at various stages of their journey, a chance to share their stories and feel heard, said member Louise Blakey.  

"We're all living examples that even though you're going through the worst times of your life, you're still important and you still matter. A lot of us get to a point where you feel like you're nothing because you're treated like you're nothing, and that's far from the truth," she said.

"That's why I love stuff like this because it reminds me just how special every person is and how far I've come in my own personal journey, which I wouldn't have without groups like this."

Blakey, 63, became unhoused when she got evicted by her landlord five months ago.

Although she's now found housing and moved into her rental last Sunday, Blakey remains grateful for support from her loved ones who never let her sleep on the streets. She wants people to know homelessness can happen "at the snap of a finger," she said. 

"It can happen to anybody. A lot of people think homelessness is something that just happens to a really poor person or somebody who's in addiction and chooses to live that way. Trust me, you do not choose to live that way — it's a very difficult life of uncertainty and insecurity, and [you're] very vulnerable, especially women."

The group eagerly awaits more opportunities to perform in front of people in London. In the meantime, they'll continue uplifting each other and maintaining their strong support system.