The San Francisco Standard: 'The Curtis Family C-Notes,' family from SF's Bayview District

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- ABC7 is excited to continue our partnership with the brand new San Francisco Standard. Part of Building A Better Bay Area is highlighting anyone who's working toward the same mission we have here at ABC7. The SF Standard's deep and insightful reporting on the city does just that.

In this edition of our interview, we talk about "The Curtis Family C-Notes," an inspiring family hailing from San Francisco's Bayview district.

It's a family band made up of mom, dad and their five children: Nola, Maestro, Zahara, Nile, Isis, Kiki and Curtis.

"They (the children) range in ages from 11 to 17. And I have to tell you, they are so talented. When I met them they were naming instruments that I genuinely hadn't even heard of," said Sophie Bearman, the San Francisco Standard's Director of Multi-media.

She shared their story with ABC7's Kristen Sze on "Getting Answers" on Friday. "So between them, they play you know dozens of instruments, and then the whole family also sings."

Bearman said she discovered the Curtis family on Twitter when they were featured in a JCPenney ad, retweeted by San Francisco Mayor London Breed.

"And so I saw them and just sort of picked up on their energy and thought to myself, you know, this is a family worth learning more about," Bearman said. "And I'm really glad we did because, you know, beyond their talents, they've had some struggles as well and some really just incredible themes emerge from speaking with them."

Bearman says the family was homeless in 2011 for about a year and a half.

"It's a theme that unfortunately echoes what you know, too many people in the Bay Area do experience from time to time housing insecurity."

You can watch the full interview above

See the San Francisco Standard's other original reporting here.