While Santa Clarita resident Tina Sisay has been singing for most of her life, it wasn’t until recently she took it upon herself to use her hobby to affect change.
Sisay’s latest single, “Broken Glass,” is not only a song about the homeless crisis but also a call to action.
“I was one of those little girls that long to be singing in some capacity,” Sisay said, recalling telling her mother at the age of 8 that she wanted to be a singer.
While she continued singing in church, which she said helped her get her singing fix in, she chose a different career path, getting her master’s degree and going into child welfare in Los Angeles County.
Fast forward and Sisay has been doing social work for 23 years and continued singing when possible, but now, she has found a way to bridge her two passions.
With a slight push from her husband, Sisay began writing songs during the pandemic, using her spare time to sit down at the piano and write.
“The songs just started to come,” Sisay said, noting that those songs all came from the current climate, such as a song about the divisiveness that was plaguing the country following the death of George Floyd. “I guess I have the heart to solve (problems).”
Sisay has found herself tackling deep, difficult messages through music, working to make them a bit more palatable, she said.
It was after someone came to speak at her church about homelessness that she was inspired to write “Broken Glass,” which reminds listeners that the homeless are more than what is seen on the surface, and they too have dreams, hopes and souls.
“When I hear things like that, because I’m a social worker, they sit really hard on my heart,” Sisay said. “We have to do more than just sit … we have to make (the problem) somehow tangible. … This is a message that the world needs to hear right now.”
The song also challenges listeners to do something to help, no matter how big or small, and to show love to those who are suffering, Sisay said.
Now Sisay hopes the song can be used to fundraise for the homeless, hoping a nonprofit wants to use it and the accompanying music video to help their cause.
“Broken Glass” is set to be officially released Friday and available on all streaming services. For more information, visit TinaSisay.com. To contact Tina Sisay, email [email protected] or message her on Instagram @tina_sisay_music.
