[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 423 Agreed to Senate (ATS)]

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116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 423

  Recognizing November 2019 as ``National Homeless Children and Youth 
                           Awareness Month''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           November 14, 2019

  Mr. Manchin (for himself, Ms. Collins, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. Young, Mr. 
   Booker, Mr. Lankford, Ms. Hirono, Ms. Hassan, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. 
    Coons, Mr. Blumenthal, Mr. Peters, and Mr. Reed) submitted the 
        following resolution; which was considered and agreed to

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Recognizing November 2019 as ``National Homeless Children and Youth 
                           Awareness Month''.

Whereas, in the United States, public schools identified approximately 1,300,000 
        homeless children and youth during the 2016-2017 school year;
Whereas an estimated 1,200,000 children younger than 6 years of age in 2014 and 
        approximately 4,200,000 youth and young adults in 2017 experienced 
        homelessness, with many such youth and young adults staying on couches, 
        in motels, in shelters, or outside;
Whereas infants who are homeless are at a higher risk for developing certain 
        illnesses and health conditions, homeless families are more likely to 
        experience involvement in the child welfare system, and homeless 
        children are more likely to experience difficulty with school 
        attendance;
Whereas a recent survey found that more than 1 in 3 high school students 
        experiencing homelessness had attempted suicide, and nearly 1 in 4 high 
        school students experiencing homelessness had experienced dating 
        violence;
Whereas individuals without a high school degree or general educational 
        development certificate (GED) are more than 3 times more likely to 
        report homelessness than their peers, making lack of education the 
        leading risk factor for homelessness;
Whereas, in 2016, the high school graduation rate for homeless students was 64 
        percent, compared to 77 percent for low-income students and 84.6 percent 
        for all students;
Whereas the rate of youth homelessness is the same in rural, suburban, and urban 
        areas;
Whereas 29 percent of unaccompanied homeless youth between 13 and 25 years of 
        age have spent time in foster care, compared to approximately 6 percent 
        of all children;
Whereas homelessness among children and youth is a complex issue that often co-
        occurs with deep poverty, low education and employment levels, substance 
        misuse and abuse, mental illness, lack of affordable housing, and family 
        conflict; and
Whereas awareness of child and youth homelessness must be heightened to 
        encourage greater support for effective programs to help children and 
        youth overcome homelessness: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) supports the efforts of businesses, organizations, 
        educators, and volunteers dedicated to meeting the needs of 
        homeless children and youth;
            (2) applauds the initiatives of businesses, organizations, 
        educators, and volunteers that--
                    (A) use time and resources to raise awareness of 
                child and youth homelessness, the causes of such 
                homelessness, and potential solutions; and
                    (B) work to prevent homelessness among children and 
                youth;
            (3) recognizes November 2019 as ``National Homeless 
        Children and Youth Awareness Month''; and
            (4) encourages those businesses, organizations, educators, 
        and volunteers to continue to intensify their efforts to 
        address homelessness among children and youth during November 
        2019.
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