1) Somerset Hills Community – has always responded well post-crisis – i.e., Columbine and 9/11

 2) These were “event-driven” vs. current financial crisis is more opaque – more of a “stealth crisis”

  • Both nationally and regionally we are in a time of painful transition
  • All these changes happening simultaneously can create a “community post-traumatic stress syndrome”

 3) As leaders in the community we want to act pro-actively to help people process their feelings and emotions, especially the more subtle emotions that might stay below the surface with no easy outlet.

  • Example – after 9/11, many people had U.S. flags in their car windows  as a rallying point
  • Today – we have “Tea Parties” to rally people who are opposed to higher taxes

 4) During the last eighteen months we have experienced an unusually high volume of bad news

  • Stock market peaked in October, 2007 at 14,000 – dropped to a low of 6,600 (-52%) on March 6, 2009
  • Major companies – Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, General Motors, Chrysler – bankrupt
  • Our overall sense of security is highly correlated to our personal financial security and our perception of overall conditions in the economy.
  • That sense of security has been shaken
    • 401k accounts have been decimated – some have to consider postponing retirement
    • Home prices have plunged causing many to be “underwater”
    • Parents and students are more concerned than ever about paying college tuition
    • We read the papers about people losing their homes to foreclosure and bankruptcy
    • Unemployment has risen dramatically and is expected to continue to rise
    • We read about states like California, on the brink of bankruptcy, slashing public services
    • On the national level:
      • Social Security and Medicare expecting large cuts
      • Record budget deficits, record national debt
      • U.S. leadership of world economy is declining

5) We are understandably seeing signs of community “stress fractures” starting to form and want to preemptively get the word out that we do not have to walk through difficult situations alone – there is an incredibly diverse set of resources available if we know where to look. Some anecdotal observations -

  • YMCA - Bob Lomauro – the Y has seen a 20% increase in requests for financial assistance
  • Bernards HS – John Grund – the teens he deals with do not verbalize much in the way of direct impact of the downturn but do show signs of stress at home; programs and staff will be cut at a time when more people need help.
  • Visiting Nurse Association – Claire O’Brien – there has been a drop off in grant money; nursing staff is noticing that there are more people seeking senior care assistance because the caregivers need to go back to work.
  • Local Clergy – report an increase in requests for financial assistance
  • Board of Health – Laura Steele – noticing more calls for assistance with health insurance.  People are losing their jobs and then health insurance coverage.
  • William Anin Middle School - Barbara Bush – staff cuts; staff dealing with more work, larger classes, less resources to do the job.  Programs are also being cut – most after-school programs in elementary & middle school, many clubs have been cut at Ridge High School.  Summer staff reductions; hearing about more families with homes in foreclosure; high school students worried about paying for college, more pressure for academic and athletic scholarships.   Some school problems reflect student’s inability to understand and cope with financial problems at home.
  • Somerset County Family Services – Linda Porcaro – has noticed a big increase in the number of children who are coming in for psychiatric screening.  In the past, in an average month there were 20 -30 children screened; now they are up to 70.  They are dealing with issues of isolation, shame; children are acting out which lets the staff know that there are problems at home.

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