In 2014 Canadian Observatory on Homelessness and the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness estimated that a total of 235,000 people experience homelessness each year. Nearly a quarter of a million people are therefore in need in this country.
Tammy Palmer of Arcola, has recently been a part of a small movement originating in Victoria, BC, with hopes of spreading information and love across the country about homelessness. Palmer participated in a remake of the 1985 song, “Tears Are Not Enough,” which was originally done by big-name artists to fund famine relief in Ethiopia.
The remake of the song, however, was envisioned by Jon Ede, an Executive Producer with E&L Records. After experiencing the world of shelters in Victoria through a friend he was helping to find a place for the night, Ede realized that something needed to be done. He found the staff was often very rude and ignorant as they turned away many people, not just his friend.
The idea for “Tears Are Not Enough,” developed as another friend told him to read an article about the hardships of living on the streets, “Socks are not enough.” Involved in the music industry he automatically thought of the song released by Northern Lights in the 80s and approached the mayor of Victoria, Lisa Helps, about what he could do to help.
Palmer soon became part of the project. Having grown up in 32 different foster homes and living through two failed adoptions, she decided to make a change in her life, leaving for the streets of Victoria at 17-years-old. For about six or seven years, music became an integral part in her life, she had always sang, but now it was a way for her to earn money on the streets busking.
She faced difficulties on the streets, becoming an addict, but having people reaching out helped her to find the strength in herself to break the cycle and find help. It’s because of her own experiences that Palmer felt compelled to help with the project and sing as part of the choir in the new version of the song.
“When someone sees a street person they always think the worst, instead you have to see yourself in their shoes,” Palmer said. “With our economy right now anyone is susceptible and the problem is going to get worse and worse, because people tend to ignore the situation.”
Palmer raised money to fly out to Victoria and help with the project on March 1, but she also raised money and donations to take 50 hygiene bags, 50 brown bag lunches, and 50 blankets out to people in need two days prior to recording.
“I wish I could have done more, while I was out there I met a 15-year-old girl and a 14-year-old boy who reminded me of myself,” Palmer explained. “Some didn’t like the rules at home and now don’t feel like they can make that call because of pride and others are there for many other reasons.”
“While I was there I went to different places that I used to go when I was on the street to say ‘Hi,’ and let people know that all their yelling at me to do something paid off because I’ve changed, I’ve grown up.”
“I realized while I was there that I don’t regret my experience on the street at all,” she added. “I don’t regret any of my struggles because they made me who I am today. At the time I did, and yes I wished I had reached out quicker, but I don’t regret it. In fact it helped me appreciate, understand, and relate to people there, not on a judgemental level which they often get, but on a human level. I sat down with them and visited with them, which is something they enjoy, being treated like a person.”
That Sunday, March 1, she came together with 20 other singers to remake “Tears Are Not Enough,” which is now available through iTunes for $0.99.
“It went better than I ever thought,” Ede stated. “I didn’t want to record a cheesy knock-off of the original ‘Tears Are Not Enough’ song. When people hear the first few notes of an original rerecorded, they usually brush it off.”
“I wanted to keep to the master David Foster’s original version but at the same time give our own deliverance and originality to it, so when you hear it you actually want to listen and hear the difference. I thought inserting the rap section for currency reasons. It’s 2015 (30 years later) and so long as the rap was relevant to the situation and purpose, I felt not only would it fit but it would also stand up and hold as part of the new version of the song.”
“We also didn’t use big name singers, my idea was to use a group of average people pulling together for something.”
It was this exact atmosphere that Palmer says was amazing to be a part of.
“It was phenomenal,” Palmer stated. “What I went through and then being a part of this was a humbling experience. My passion, I’ve found it again for life and for singing.”
“We never sang together before, but it was honestly like we had been singing together for years. It was humbling and encouraging to see everyone come together and to see people who all cared about the same issues.”
