HJ0110 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HJ0110 LRB096 21481 KTG 38102 r

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Dedicated individuals, volunteers, communities, and organizations have contributed their time, talents, and efforts to working towards alleviating homelessness in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, The purpose of this resolution aims to secure continual and extended federal funding so that State-wide programs, organizations, support systems, and initiatives can continue their work of improving the quality of life for people experiencing homelessness in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Congress enacted the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) which, along with other provisions, authorized an estimated $11.72 billion in additional federal funding for States to utilize in support of programs, organizations, and initiatives working towards reducing homelessness and the factors that cause it; and

WHEREAS, The Obama Administration awarded approximately $80 million in grants throughout Illinois to support existing initiatives to reduce homelessness, such as the Continuum of Care programs that provide relief services including permanent and temporary housing for individuals experiencing homelessness and work to alleviate the causes of homelessness by supplying additional services such as job training, health care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and child care; and

WHEREAS, A national survey conducted in 2007 by the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimated that between 2.3 and 3.5 million people experience homelessness each year and anticipated a dramatic increase in the population of Americans experiencing homelessness over the next several years; and

WHEREAS, The National Alliance to End Homelessness found that in 2007 an estimated 15,487 people in Illinois experienced homelessness, and that 44% of those homeless persons have families; and in another report released the following year, the United States Conference of Mayors indicated that cities witnessed an average increase of 12% of residents experiencing homelessness since 2007; and

WHEREAS, The National Alliance to End Homelessness reported that the current economic situation will force an additional 1.5 million people into homelessness during the next two years, and the National Coalition for the Homeless released a report in July 2009 revealing that the recent national foreclosure crisis has caused homelessness to rise dramatically; and

WHEREAS, Even though the current economic climate has caused Illinois to face severe unprecedented budget shortfalls, the generous grants awarded by President Obama have prevented even more drastic budget cuts that would have been implemented had this increase in funding not been available; and

WHEREAS, Illinois legislators will approach the Fiscal Year 2011 budget with as much caution as the Fiscal Year 2010 budget, yet it is estimated that lagging revenues and continued spending pressures will result in an even larger deficit, and, without an infusion of funding from borrowing or another source, the State's fiscal health will continue to decline; and

WHEREAS, Multiple and varied groups throughout Illinois are actively engaging in efforts to ameliorate the factors that contribute to homelessness, as well as the condition of homelessness itself; and

WHEREAS, Illinois programs such as West Suburban PADS annually assist over 850 people, including more than 92 families, and over 158 children by offering more than 12,170 nights of emergency shelter, 39,178 meals, 22,180 days and nights of housing, and re-housing or preventing the loss of housing for 352 men, women, and children; and

WHEREAS, Illinois programs such as West Suburban PADS rely on federal funding as the primary source for 5 housing programs that provide supportive services such as: basic needs (showers, laundry, transportation passes, identification cards, and telecommunications equipment to facilitate long-term employment), case management services, benefits coordination, housing location and retention, employment services, medical clinics, and legal clinics; and

WHEREAS, Illinois programs such as Inner Voice have received federal grants from government initiatives such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to bolster their programs which include supportive services that annually assist over 1,400 people who are homeless or at immediate risk of becoming homeless and provide shelter and beds for over 1,000 homeless individuals or families in need of emergency shelter during the year; and

WHEREAS, Illinois programs serving the downstate area, such as M.E.R.C.Y, annually provide over 30 families with transitional living and permanent supportive housing services and report a sharp increase in inquiries for services, a substantial increase in referrals from neighboring communities for supportive services, and identify children (there are currently over 413 homeless children in Springfield, Illinois public schools) as the most underserved group by federal efforts intended to alleviate homelessness; and

WHEREAS, Additional federal funding would allow Illinois programs such as West Suburban PADS, Inner Voice, and M.E.R.C.Y. to continue their efforts on a larger scale by providing them with the resources to reach more people, to provide more services, and thus to contribute on a much broader scale to alleviating both the problems and the factors that cause homelessness; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we respectfully urge Congress and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation to support the continuation and extension of federal funding directed towards eliminating the condition of homelessness in Illinois that was made available by Government initiatives such as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and grants by President Obama; and be it further

RESOLVED, That after adoption, suitable copies of this resolution shall be delivered by the Clerk of the Illinois House of Representatives to each member of the Illinois Congressional Delegation and to President Obama.