Supporting Efforts Promoting Greater Public Awareness of Effective Runway Youth Prevention Programs
SUPPORTING EFFORTS PROMOTING GREATER PUBLIC AWARENESS OF EFFECTIVE RUNAWAY YOUTH PREVENTION PROGRAMS -- (House of Representatives - September 27, 2006)
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Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join with my colleague from Nebraska, one of the most effective, if I might say, advocates for young people that I know anywhere in this country.
Mr. Speaker, I want to thank my colleague Mr. Osborne for bringing H. Res. 1009 to the floor today, and I join him in support of this resolution that promotes the need for greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the increasing need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for youth in high-risk situations.
Mr. Speaker, this resolution points to an issue that is of great concern to me: young people who have been pushed aside and thrown away, oftentimes by their parents and sometimes by all of society.
The youth who come to these programs represent what some call a lost generation, a generation that holds so much promise and yet sees so few opportunities. When a young person comes to these programs, they often do so out of a need for security, shelter, and comfort that they cannot find at home. And these programs provide that comfort. They provide basic life skills training, job preparation and placement, health referrals and services.
Unfortunately, Mr. Speaker, each year the need for these programs grows. The basic housing needs of our Nation's most vulnerable youth, those experiencing homelessness, are not being met. And continued shortfalls in funding for the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act have increased this need.
Nearly 150,000 young people are served at basic centers and through transitional living programs. Yet as this resolution points out, many more runaways and homeless youth find themselves without these critical community services. It is appropriate that today we take time out to promote greater public awareness of the needs of these young people and the services that are available to them in the community.
In particular, I want to applaud the hard work of the front line workers who are on the ground working with runaway and homeless youth every day. For many young people, these workers represent the only responsible and caring adults they will have contact with during their time on the streets. Many of these workers are volunteers who make themselves available 24 hours a day. They venture into dangerous situations, providing a lifeline to these young people, and they should be acknowledged for their efforts.
I am mindful of one organization in my neighborhood, the Night Ministry, that has developed probably one of the most effective programs of this type in the country, where not only have they provided a program with adequate shelter, but they have what I call state-of-the-art housing. You can see them at night during the cold winter, driving along the streets, getting out, oftentimes interceding and picking up young people, questioning them about why they are there. And those who know Chicago know that it gets awfully cold during the winter months. So I applaud the Night Ministry.
I thank Mr. Porter for introducing this resolution, and certainly I commend Mr. Osborne for his tremendous work on behalf of young people.
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