As a girl, Wendy Oxenhorn aspired to become a professional ballerina before a tragic injury shattered her dream. But that twist of fate catapulted her into a life of social work that eventually led her to co-found the first street paper and spark a global movement. Today, there are 112 street papers in 35 countries employing some 11,000 homeless vendors at any given time.

But Wendy's work didn’t stop there. She eventually landed a dream job saving musicians’ lives at the Jazz Foundation of America and was recently named a 2016 NEA Jazz Master, the nation’s highest honor in jazz.

Wendy shares her incredible journey in her own words.

Sounds From the Street is a bi-weekly podcast elevating the voices of people engaged with the homeless community in our nation’s capital.