Fact: According to recent government statistics, only 45% of all potential recyclable material is actually recycled, leaving the remaining 55% unaccounted for and resulting in a loss of economic opportunity. Fact: Locally, the City of Houston has no requirement mandating businesses or commercial/residential high rises to participate in recycling programs. In addition, the City facilitates recycling only in neighborhoods which show an acceptable profit margin. Through identifying and organizing the redemption of this "lost material", our goal is to create food, housing and small business solutions and initiate community-based and funded redevelopment. These programs which are generally funded by taxes from government agencies and/or large contributions from non-profits, could be addressed and solved by stakeholders in the targeted areas. We hope to establish community gardens in conjunction with neighborhood produce markets that will spawn volunteerism, as well as provide jobs and a healthy, inexpensive, & environmentally sound alternative to grocery chains and their high prices. In the area of housing, we have found a need to both rehabilitate old and dilapidated dwellings, as well as provide assistance for needed upgrades, such as, A/C and heating units and accessibility for the elderly and disabled. **It should be noted that there are underlying social issues that CCAN wishes to address** First and foremost, we want to deprive individuals and criminal organizations from acquiring and profiting from the redemption of these materials, which in most cases goes back into some of our targeted areas, encouraging further chaos and vice. Secondly, we are committed to providing the means and resources for families who are impoverished or destabilized by social-economic reasons, to regain stability and encourage growth and development. By dealing with emergency and long-term problems of food, housing and employment, we believe we can build a lasting foundation of success for our "forgotten neighbors". Finally, in these times of economic hardship, where family budgets and sanity are stretched to their limits, CCAN will offer ordinary everyday people, an opportunity to directly contribute to the development and well-being of their City and their neighbors. Communities Collectively Acquiring for Needs is the path to a much simpler and gratifying America, where we are our brothers' keeper and companion for change.
CCAN
By Founders Cherye Altice and Yeddiah
It is these facts which provide the basis for CCAN's innovative business model, by providing a simple solution to what has been a government boondoggle in the past.
To contact us you can e-mail us at houstonccan@yahoo.com
A man wakes up and smells his favorite breakfast has been prepared. He rises out of bed thinking about how hopeless his life seems. He looks in the mirror, and he sees an image that he cannot bear to look at. He stares at a picture of his wife. She is a beautiful, radiant, and picturesque woman that has the type of appeal that would make most men drool on themselves; however, he has not touched her physically in over six months. He briefly glances at his awards of achievements for writing and thinks about going to the laptop and doing some work. He begins to lift the lid, but he immediately closes it before the computer boots up. Sunlight pierces the room and provides its own beautiful beams of radiance. The man decides to return to his bed instead of viewing the blissful scene completely filling his bedroom with awe and splendor. Why is he abstaining from eating his favorite foods? How come he does not want to embrace the beautiful and loving wife he has shared many enjoyable moments with? Why does he refuse or neglect to touch a computer that previously gave him so much joy and aided his writing achievements?
These are many symptoms that are associated with the clinical condition known as depression. Depression, according to the fourth edition of Webster’s New World Collegiate Dictionary, is “an emotional condition, either neurotic or psychotic, characterized by feelings of hopelessness, inadequacy, etc.” Depression has numerous causes, symptoms, and various treatments, and common misconceptions. There is no single cause of depression that is completely isolated. It can occur as a result of many conditions. The death or illness of a loved one can initiate the onset of the emotionally debilitating condition. A history of depression within the family can also trigger the condition. The causes of depression can also be very diverse. It can also come from a traumatic experience such as physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. Sometimes, events that are ordinarily perceived as joyous occasions can have an emotionally stressing condition: primary life-altering occurrences, finishing college, changing marital status, new parental responsibility, resigning due to advanced age. Many of the symptoms of depression involve dramatic changes and a severe decline in the condition of one’s emotional health.
Melancholy is very common in the demeanor of sufferers. Many find themselves withdrawing from things that would ordinarily bring joy and fulfillment into one’s life. It is common for people to abstain from sex if it were, otherwise, available. It is characterized by many negative feelings: excessive exhaustion, extreme anxiety, life is worthless, anger and irritability, feelings of burdening others, feelings of guilt, feelings of failure, and that of life passing one by. Sometimes, people having the condition do not like being alone, or they do not like to be around other people. Sometimes, people are not able to think clearly unless there is great strain involved. Frequently, a depressed person will spend a great deal of time contemplating the cause or causes of uneventful occurrences or attempting to identify the numerous flaws in themselves. Insomnia is a prevalent symptom of depression. The treatment can also be administered in various options as well. The physician and the patient determine together what the best treatment may possibly be. Antidepressant medication and psychotherapy are the most common practices for treating depression. They are used to increase levels of (neurotransmitter deemed responsible for regulation of brain activity).
Some alternative treatments are yoga and mediation. It is said yoga along with jogging regularly is as effective as psychotherapy. Prayer and meditation is deemed effective by those who practice it by allowing to a person to isolate and eliminate all thoughts from the mind in a completely relaxed state. One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with depression is some of the general population’s misconceptions associated with it. One of the most popular misconceptions is that a person can easily make a decision to eliminate their depression, and it should immediately subside. Unfortunately, merely thinking them away does not eliminate the chemical imbalances that characterize many symptoms of the disease. Many people still adhere to the previously mentioned misconception as opposed to actually being an illness that necessitates treatment by the use of various methods and techniques. Many of the people having the disease are inundated with these erroneous beliefs and fail to seek treatment. This makes the condition much more difficult to address, properly.
Some people are still inclined to believe that the illness is merely a condition of the mind that could not be treated, which is false due to the increasing amounts of medications, alternate options, and technologies for its treatment. Depression does have many detrimental effects that are treatable; however, many misconceptions and false beliefs can interfere with a person’s ability to recognize the symptoms and get the treatment it merits. Anyone noticing any of the previously mentioned symptoms in themselves and associates are encouraged to seek treatment, immediately. It is a serious medical condition that can result in detrimental effects, possibly leading to suicide. There are treatment centers that are available all over most major cities and towns. Depression is not a disease to take lightly. It may not sound serious, but the end result without appropriate treatment can be traumatic.