History of One Human Community
What’s the history of One Human Community? One Human Community is the brainchild of Avo Keshishyan. It was conceived in the aftermath of the Great Recession of 2008 to provide peer to peer support for those who needed it, FREE of charge and FREE of humiliation.
Times were tough. During the period following the Great Recession:
- 10,000,000 families have lost their homes. (That’s nearly 25% of all American homes.)
- 11.5 million breadwinners were unemployed.
- 50,000,000 Americans lived below the poverty line.
- 1 in 5 American children went hungry.
The “big institutions” had a case of collective amnesia. For reasons unknown, banks couldn’t remember – or even look up! – their history with clients who helped them make record-breaking profits for years and years in the then prosperous economy. They forgot a person’s top credit rating the moment one tried to even temporarily lower credit card payments. (Financial circumstances are subject to change but a person’s financial history is the ultimate record of one’s integrity.)
Banks that pushed predatory loans received bailouts from the government while millions of consumers manipulated and exploited by them were left holding the bag. Go figure.
Government institutions responsible for preventing human tragedies can be quite cavalier. Government’s employees work, they don’t feel. Aid was often dispensed in the most humiliating way; often unfairly; frequently based on the case worker’s personal bias; abuse of authority – among case workers – was (at the time) rampant. (In some cases, local governments had no resources to dispense aid, at all.)
While the “big institutions” gave a cold shoulder to consumers whose finances have changed for worse, the community seemed to be terrified of people in crisis and frequently treated them like lepers, as if temporary financial problems were contagious. (Excluding AIDS patients from the mainstream of society gave rise to a justified outrage. Shouldn’t the exclusion of the suddenly impoverished, the working poor and the under-employed have brought the community closer together?) The change we witnessed wasn’t purely economic. It was also social and for many: an identity problem.
Communities do flock together to celebrate; they don’t always come together to support members in crisis.
At the height of the crisis, One Human Community, Avo Keshishyan and a few other brave souls were there for:
- over 90 families at risk of losing their homes who were counseled (free) on home preservation programs and provided with free resources to assist them in saving their homes
- 22 homeowners whose income has shrunk and who needed help applying for mortgage modifications were given free resources and free assistance throughout the process
- nearly 200 unemployed individuals were provided free access to computers and Internet; trained in developing their resumes and showed how to search for and apply for jobs Online
- free classes in money management were made available to 39 individuals in the process of overcoming financial hardship
- over 200 families were provided with referrals to resources for low income families
- free clothing was provided to 60 low income women
- free toys were distributed to nearly 250 underprivileged children
No one was turned away. All forms of support were provided FREE of charge.
Solutions to most human problems are usually available – regardless of the specifics of your situation – PROVIDED you know how to find them. One Human Community made much needed information and resources available to those who needed them in a safe and supportive environment.
Moral support, guidance and information were always available. The same can’t be said of food and goods which were – unfortunately – sparse. One way or another, Avo and his supporters have done their best to help those in need.
The supporters were either survivors of the crisis or community members who’re volunteering their time and skills.
Avo Keshishyan’s home (in San Fernando Valley, CA) served as the center of One Human Community’s activities.
Could have One Human Community done more or better? ABSOLUTELY! That’s why this Website’s been developed. To reach more Los Angeles area residents in need and provide them with access to helpful resources.
The word of One Human Community’s work has spread nationwide and Avo was receiving requests for help from allover United States. Read some of the stories that make statistics HUMAN!
One Human Community was and is a grassroots movement, a human community built on personal pride, human solidarity and the honor system.
There is the government, politics and economy all of which are somewhat abstract and way above our heads, but there are also individuals, the human power and the power of the human community.
The crisis following the Great Recession and the mortgage bust are over. Poverty and homelessness persist.
Let’s stop watching; let’s stop being afraid: neither poverty nor misfortune are contagious; let’s pull together and confront our real fears and unjustified anxieties as One Human Community. Better yet, let’s combat and PREVENT poverty with education, reading and financial literacy.