FIRST OFF . . .

Stevie Wonder is launching an 18-month campaign to raise funds for the construction of homeless shelters across the country and to raise awareness of the homeless’s plight in the United States. The project, “Every Heart Needs a Home,” will be launched Nov. 22 with a benefit concert at the Beacon Theater in New York, which will be broadcast nationwide on a pay-per-view basis. Wonder’s performance will be the first in a series of live performances, public service announcements and appearances at events such as housing project ground breakings. Said Mitch Costanza, executive director of the American Task Force for the Homeless, which is working on the campaign with Wonder: “Human dignity is not a privilege, it is what every American should expect. . . . Our organization joins hands with Stevie Wonder in his effort to accomplish this goal.”