Matthew's Hope hosts karaoke during emergency shelter

MissingLink Entertainment brought its DJ and karaoke machine to Matthew’s Hope Ministries to bring a sense of normalcy and belonging to those at the emergency shelter during the extreme cold weather Central Florida experienced. 

People sang, danced, cheered and had smiles on their faces. 

“I knew it was a great idea the second they asked me about it,” MissingLink Entertainment owner Matt Leiva said. “There’s always a lot of stigma and assumptions made about people experiencing homelessness, but all I saw was a community enjoying a fun activity together. I didn’t know what to expect going into it, but I was blown away by how similar it was to the crowds I get at bars or holiday parties. People smiling, dancing and just wanting to have a great time.” 

Different types of genres were played, including songs such as “Ben” by Michael Jackson, “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra, “I Believe I Can Fly” by R. Kelly and more. 

“I had such a great time hosting the impromptu event,” Leiva said. “I wasn’t sure how it was going to go over. I thought, ‘Worst-case scenario, I’ll just play music for them if nobody wanted to sing.’ But we had people signing up to sing nonstop, and I had a blast. I really think everyone had a fun time and that meant the world to me.”

Matthew’s Hope Director Shannon Diaz said karaoke was a perfect way to ease tension in a tough situation.

“The biggest joy has to be seeing everybody laughing, having fun with the karaoke and everybody just being able to enjoy themselves, even if it’s just for today or just for that moment,” she said. “Very rarely do the people that we serve get the opportunity to not worry where they’re going to sleep at night, not worry about their next meal, not worry about all the things that come along with being homeless and to just be able to let loose even if they’re not comfortable enough to get up there, but just to listen, to laugh, to just kind of let their shoulders relax and kind of just be in the moment, it’s nice.” 

In addition to karaoke, Matthew’s Hope also provided bingo cards, colored pencils and decorative pouches for the homeless to pass the time. 

Diaz said one of their favorite activities to do while at the shelter is put on a classic movie and relax, but karaoke was a good addition to the activities.