NPACH, 4 Other National Organizations Brief Congressional Staff on Family Homelessness Crisis
3/18/2005
News Advisory:
ALEXANDRIA, Va., March 18 — Homelessness among children and families in this country is having a devastating impact, often destroying families and leading to developmental, educational, and health problems in homeless children. These alarming trends were detailed at a briefing for congressional staff conducted today by Catholic Charities USA, Volunteers of America, the Child Welfare League of America, the National Association for the Education of Homeless Children and Youth, and the National Policy and Advocacy Council on Homelessness.
The briefing brought together a diverse panel of service providers and educators to shed light on the problems that cause and perpetuate family homelessness, and included a presentation of a policy agenda to help prevent and end homelessness. Topics discussed included: the need for housing and supportive services; the importance of keeping children in a stable school environment; and the damaging impact of domestic violence and interactions with the child welfare system. Congressional staff also heard from a formerly homeless youth from Ohio.
"Family homelessness has lots of causes: poverty, low wages, rising housing costs, and personal vulnerabilities such as mental illness and substance abuse," said Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA. "We as a society have not yet done enough to support the families that have fallen through the cracks in our communities."
Families are among the fastest growing segment of the homeless population, explained Ellen L. Bassuk, M.D., of Harvard Medical School and president of the National Center on Family Homelessness. Some of the other troubling statistics that she shared with the congressional staffers included:
-- 1.35 million children are homeless and 42 percent of children in shelters are under six-years old;
-- 50 percent of homeless families are homeless two or more times;
-- 25 percent of families who have been homeless before stay in a shelter for more than six months;
-- Homeless children are sick four times as often as other children and experience high rates of acute and chronic illness;
-- Over 50 percent of homeless school children perform below grade level with 36 percent having to repeat a grade; and
-- 20 percent of homeless children lack regular medical care and 59 percent visit hospital emergency rooms yearly.
"The federal government, in partnership with state and local governments, as well as faith and community-based organizations, must be part of the solution to help end homelessness, especially among families. It will require investments in these children and their families, including income supports, affordable housing, medical care, substance abuse and mental health treatment, and job training and education for both adults and children," said Fr. Snyder. “It will be a difficult task, but there is a lot at stake -— not just housing stability, but the long-term well-being of children and families. By helping these children now, we will give them hope, and thereby help our communities for many years to come."
"The quicker we can surround a first-time homeless family with the counseling and support systems necessary to get them off the streets and into independent living, the better the chance that this family will not be drawn into chronic homelessness. Quick intervention plus comprehensive support services equal a high rate of success," said Dianna Kunz, president and CEO, of the Colorado Branch of Volunteers of America. "After falling into trouble, the sooner a family gets back on its collective feet, the fewer bad habits and bad behaviors will be learned and the quicker this family can return to being a productive unit of our society."
The panelists also outlined several policy recommendations that Congress must address to make housing more affordable and accessible; to improve the ability of the child welfare system to prevent and end family and youth homelessness; to help homeless families access health care; and to improve education outcomes for homeless children and youth. Some of these recommendations are below.
-- Protect and expand the Housing Choice ("Section 8") Voucher Program and preserve the rules that give priority for voucher assistance to extremely low-income households most at risk of becoming homeless.
-- Strengthen investments in the production and preservation of affordable housing, especially for extremely low-income families with children.
-- Revise the HUD definition of "homeless" to capture the reality experienced http://www.usnewswire.comby many homeless families.
-- Increase funding to $505 million for fiscal 2006 for the Promoting Safe and Stable Families program.
-- Oppose any attempt to block grant child welfare funding.
-- Maintain Medicaid as an entitlement and require states to simplify Medicaid and SCHIP application, enrollment, and recertification procedures to ensure that more homeless families are enrolled.
-- Support continued HUD funding for supportive services such as mental health and substance abuse treatment and increase investment in providing these services to homeless families.
-- Fund Community Health Centers at $2 billion, as recommended by the Administration in which 8.6 percent of this money ($172 million) would support the Health Care for the Homeless program.
-- In reauthorization of the Head Start program, remove current barriers to participation such as lack of required documentation or lack of transportation.
-- Fund the McKinney-Vento Act's Education of Homeless Children and Youth program at its authorized level of $70 million. Increased funding is needed to reach more children and to provide more comprehensive direct services for school enrollment, attendance, and success.
The briefings were sponsored by Sen. Wayne Allard (R-Colo.), and Sen. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio), Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.), Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), and Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.).