AAPCS: H-II: Stephen Michael Apatow On Communities In Crisis

Jan. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- The America's Action Plan for Community Service banner includes two graphics that represent the hidden economic emergency across the United States. The first is tent cities in America, [1] and the second represents the 195,827 veterans living on the streets in 2007, before the market crash of 2008. [2]

Whether the focus is victims of the tool belt recession (construction, carpenters, plumbers, electricians), [3] the unemployed/underemployed or small businesses.... a hidden crisis is raging and a five year projection for stabilization and recovery is incomprehensible for those that don't have the resources to meet their bottom line today.

Today, 2.1 million construction workers are out of a job. Jobs are down 38 percent since 2006 in residential construction alone. This “tool belt recession” in the construction trades spills over to other parts of the economy as well. Because of declining demand for construction many manufacturing industry sectors that produce building products are currently operating at close to half their production capacity.

As devastating as these numbers are, however, the unemployment figures for construction are likely an understatement of the problem due to the large number of selfemployed construction workers that do not show up in payroll statistics, so the jobs picture is even more urgent than even these data suggest. Further, more than 90 percent of contractors in the construction industry are small businesses—another hard-hit segment of the economy. -- Center for American Progress [3]

These people have been forgotten, and hidden from view, distorting the critical information needed for emergency assistance during the current undeclared state of economic emergency.

Families and small businesses in crisis can no longer be abandoned. House to house, business to business needs analysis must be completed, with strategic planning and emergency assistance available for stabilization, not for a week or a month, but for the duration of the crisis . Emergency assistance for the household level includes housing/mortgage, food, heating, utilities and medical insurance.

The objective of the "America's Action Plan for Community Service" [4] is to bridge unmet needs to untapped resources and includes the following objectives:

-- To empower youth and community leaders with the tools they need to develop initiatives that can effectively bridge unmet needs to untapped resources in their communities.
-- To encourage the immediate development of a needs coordinating group in every local community across the United States.
-- To encourage the development of a communication network that would include the executive directors of all frontline service programs to obtain prioritized overviews of unmet community needs.
-- To encourage the construction of a grass roots communication network (fax, email, postal) to all churches, interfaith organizations, youth leadership programs, volunteer programs, corporate networks and media outlets (newspaper, radio and television).
-- To encourage the distribution of quarterly or bi-annual needs updates.


Country Music Association Artist H-II: Stephen Michael Apatow is founder of the Humanitarian Resource Institute and United Nations Arts Initiative. Since 1989, national project development and advocacy work included the formation of Humanitarian Resource Institute (www.humanitarian.net), to "Bridge Unmet Needs to Untapped Resources." Today, this work continues through the United Nations Arts Initiative (www.unarts.org) and global promotion of "Arts Integration Into Education." He is also a Member/Publisher: American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP).

References:

1. Economic Crisis Devastates Rich & Poor - Tent Cities in America: Humanitarian Resource Institute, 19 March 2010. Url: http://www.unarts.org/news/aiie_impact3192010.html
2. Vital Mission: Ending Homelessness Among Veterans: National Alliance to End Homelessness, 8 November 2007. Url: http://www.endhomelessness.org/content/article/detail/1839
3. Taking on the Tool Belt Recession: Center for American Progress, 3 March 2010. Url: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/03/tool_belt_...
4. CMA Artist H-II: Stephen Michael Apatow Advances America's Action Plan For Community Service: Music Industry News Network, 3 December 2010. Url: http://www.unarts.org/news/aiie_aapcs1232010.html

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Humanitarian Resource Institute is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization, established with a mission focus to "Bridge Unmet Needs to Untapped Resources" through the development of initiatives associated with economic, social, cultural and humanitarian issues worldwide.