How Art Becomes Advocacy in the Fight for Housing: New Episode of “The Common Ground” Podcast Out Now

By May Louis-Juste, NLIHC Project Manager, Strategic Partnerships   

“What does housing justice sound like?” In episode 4 of “The Common Ground,” we explore this question through a powerful, in-depth conversation with Daniel Holmes, Kennetha Patterson, and Nat Peterson Lopes of the National Voices of Resilience Homeless Choir. The choir brings together artists, advocates, and community members who use music to turn lived experience into something shared: connection, healing, and purpose. This episode asks listeners to look past familiar narratives of homelessness and sit with something less expected: joy, creativity, and the quiet power of collective care. For Daniel, Kennetha, and Nat, the work goes beyond performance. It's about making space to be heard, to be valued, and to belong. 

Daniel Holmes founded the choir alongside the visual art collective Morning Coffee Artists, after years of living and witnessing homelessness firsthand. What began as paintings evolved into poems, and then into music that carries the full weight of those journeys, including stories of loss, resilience, and hope. As Daniel shares, the songs started as paintings, became poems, and eventually found their way into a recording studio, one hard-won opportunity at a time. 

Kennetha Patterson brings that same conviction to advocacy work. For her, being part of the choir is about more than community. It is about proving that people experiencing homelessness are not a problem to be managed, but voices with something essential to offer. 

"Any one of you could be homeless. Homelessness is not by choice." – Daniel Holmes 

That directness sits at the heart of everything the choir does. Daniel shared a moment from a public forum where he challenged a deputy mayor, who was speaking about homelessness without ever having experienced it, to understand what it really means. A week later, a tornado displaced thousands of Nashville residents. The point landed hard. Together, the three of them make the case that housing justice is not only about policy. It is about people, and about how we see one another, how we build community, and how we invest in spaces that allow people to heal and thrive. 

"Housing is healthcare and also housing is the nucleus of every family, and without it, everything literally is going haywire." – Kennetha Patterson 

That belief carries through everything the choir is building, from benefit concerts and a growing fund to a musical play currently in development, to long-term plans for community-owned housing. Because at its core, this episode is a call to listen more deeply, and then to act. Whether by supporting artists, showing up to performances, or advocating for safe, stable, and affordable housing, there is a role for all of us here. 

To hear more about this important discussion, you can listen to “The Common Ground” on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and SoundCloud. Subscribe to join us as we explore our shared commitment to finding common ground.