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Neighbors
SANTAN SUN NEWS | SEPTEMBER 1–14
For more community news visit SanTanSun.com
Rockin’ dads jam for charity as they cope with loss BY COLLEEN SPARKS Managing Editor
While some fathers like to bond with other men over rounds of golf or by coaching their children’s sports teams, one group of dads prefers rocking out in a Chandler man cave and playing gigs at local bars and charitable events. Besides the joy they experience banging on drums, strumming guitars and singing their hearts out, the members of STEREO REX say their jam sessions and songwriting have also helped lead singer Rex Van Dine, 52, grieve and cope with the loss of his daughter, Tawni. She died at age 23 in 2013, leaving behind a son, Jaxon Tryon, now 7, who Rex and his wife, Kerry Van Dine are raising at their Gilbert home. Rex wrote three songs with help from STEREO REX drummer Paul Burch, 49, of Chandler, and Dran Drago on guitar and JD Arthur on bass with Casey Weaver producing the compilation. One song, “Sunday Road,” was about Rex’s frustration in trying to help his daughter, who had struggled with drug use while “One I’ll Never Know” is about Rex realizing that his daughter was no longer his little girl. The third one on the CD of three songs is called “One Last Time,” about Rex and Jaxon saying
Photos by Kimberly Carrillo/Staff Photographer
STEREO REX band members (from left) Bryan Linder, guitarist, Rex Van Dine, lead singer and guitarist, Brian Hoch, bass player and Paul Burch, on drums, pose outside of Burch’s home in Chandler.
“goodbye” to Tawni. The support and camaraderie of his fellow STEREO REX band members – Burch, Bryan Linder on guitar and Brian Hoch on bass – have helped him cope with his loss. “If it wasn’t for these guys, I would
have lost my mind,” Rex said. A sign of Rex and his family moving forward and the strength his band mates provide is evident in a video for STEREO REX’s song, “Home” on their CD “Crunch, Crash, Boom.” In the video, Rex interacts with Jaxon
outside in the desert during the song Rex wrote as if Tawni was singing to her son from above. The lyrics include words about her always being with him and comforting him if he is sad. Burch produced the video. “I can’t imagine losing a child,” said Burch, the father of two. “We wanted to be there for him. It’s all Rex pouring his heart out.” STEREO REX is performing at the Battle of the Bands at 10 p.m. on Sept. 7 at The Patio at The Forum, 2301 S. Stearman Drive in Chandler. The band will also be performing an acoustic, familyfriendly show from 6 to 9 p.m. on Sept. 22 at Nicantoni’s Pizza, 323 S. Gilbert Road in Gilbert. The band plays charitable events, eager to support anything that helps children and brings awareness to drug abuse. Every November, STEREO REX plays at American Legion Post 90 in Black Canyon City as part of the Annual Marines Toys for Tots Rides Maricopa. The band will take the stage at a Cutrano AZ Troop Run, Inc. event that raises money for fallen soldiers’ children to attend college at Lucie’s Sage & Sand in Glendale in November. See
DADSBAND on page 46
Chandler single mom escapes abuse, makes a life BY COLLEEN SPARKS Managing Editor
A single mother of three has been honored for her passion and perseverance in furthering her education and building a brighter future for her family after escaping an abusive relationship. Vanessa Dearmon, 31, recently received the Family Self-Sufficiency Participant of the Year distinction from the Arizona Chapter of the National Association of Housing and Redevelopment Officials. Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale and Phoenix partner to offer the Family SelfSufficiency Program to help low-income families transition from public assistance to economic self-sufficiency. Dearmon works full-time at a restaurant and is taking classes to earn her bachelor’s degree in interior design and sustainability from Northern Arizona University while raising her children. She already has two associate’s degrees from Mesa Community College. Dearmon lives in public housing in Chandler and is also a member of the Chandler Public Housing Authority Commission and Chandler Housing and Human Services Commission. The Housing and Human Services Commission makes recommendations to the City Council and Public Housing Authority on the city’s annual Community Development Block Grant from the federal government that is divvied up among nonprofit organizations in Chandler.
Kimberly Carrillo/Staff Photographer
Bonding with Vanessa Dearmon are her children, from left, Nahzhim, Khalil and Nala-Iyah.
Dearmon said she was surprised when she was asked to join the Housing and Human Services Commission and when she found out she received the selfsufficiency award. “That one came as a total shock to me,” she said of the commission invitation. ‘I was like, really, you guys want me?’ I came in and interviewed. They talked about what we do, how we help with the community. “Who wouldn’t want to give back to the community? Coming from using these
services to being on a commission that oversees these services is amazing. It really touches my heart to be able to give back to programs that I have received.” Dearmon also is happy to be on the Chandler Public Housing Authority Commission, the governing authority for topics related to the administration, operation and management of the federal public housing and rental assistance programs that the city administers. She has lived in public housing in Chandler since 2016 with her children:
Nahzhim, 8; Nala-Iyah, 5; and Khalil, 3. “I had no idea I was even a nominee or in the running,” Dearmon said of the award. “I feel blessed. I feel grateful. All these people have come together and helped me rebuild my steps. People I’ve never met are like, ‘I’m proud of you; you’re doing a good job.’ It’s humbling at the same time.” Through the self-sufficiency program, Dearmon and other residents who live in public housing pay a certain percent of their adjusted monthly income towards their rent. When a family’s earned income increases from a job, a percentage of that pay raise can be put in an escrow savings account. The family will get all of the money in the account, plus interest, when the program contract is successfully completed. The contract is completed when the participant reaches personal goals including earning a higher education, maintaining full-time employment and fixing credit card debt. Families are encouraged to open an individual development account, which is a savings account that lets them save money to buy a home. For every dollar saved in that account, the family will get a $3 match from the IDA program. Amy Jacobson, housing and redevelopment manager for the Chandler Housing Authority, is one of Dearmon’s supporters. See
SINGLE MOM on page 44