Full Text of HJR0110 96th General Assembly
HJ0110 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, Dedicated individuals, volunteers, communities, | 3 |
| and organizations have contributed their time, talents, and | 4 |
| efforts to working towards alleviating homelessness in | 5 |
| Illinois; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, The purpose of this resolution aims to secure | 7 |
| continual and extended federal funding so that State-wide | 8 |
| programs, organizations, support systems, and initiatives can | 9 |
| continue their work of improving the quality of life for people | 10 |
| experiencing homelessness in Illinois; and | 11 |
| WHEREAS, Congress enacted the American Recovery and | 12 |
| Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) which, along with other | 13 |
| provisions, authorized an estimated $11.72 billion in | 14 |
| additional federal funding for States to utilize in support of | 15 |
| programs, organizations, and initiatives working towards | 16 |
| reducing homelessness and the factors that cause it; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, The Obama Administration awarded approximately | 18 |
| $80 million in grants throughout Illinois to support existing | 19 |
| initiatives to reduce homelessness, such as the Continuum of | 20 |
| Care programs that provide relief services including permanent | 21 |
| and temporary housing for individuals experiencing | 22 |
| homelessness and work to alleviate the causes of homelessness |
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| by supplying additional services such as job training, health | 2 |
| care, mental health counseling, substance abuse treatment, and | 3 |
| child care; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, A national survey conducted in 2007 by the | 5 |
| National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty estimated that | 6 |
| between 2.3 and 3.5 million people experience homelessness each | 7 |
| year and anticipated a dramatic increase in the population of | 8 |
| Americans experiencing homelessness over the next several | 9 |
| years; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, The National Alliance to End Homelessness found | 11 |
| that in 2007 an estimated 15,487 people in Illinois experienced | 12 |
| homelessness, and that 44% of those homeless persons have | 13 |
| families; and in another report released the following year, | 14 |
| the United States Conference of Mayors indicated that cities | 15 |
| witnessed an average increase of 12% of residents experiencing | 16 |
| homelessness since 2007; and | 17 |
| WHEREAS, The National Alliance to End Homelessness | 18 |
| reported that the current economic situation will force an | 19 |
| additional 1.5 million people into homelessness during the next | 20 |
| two years, and the National Coalition for the Homeless released | 21 |
| a report in July 2009 revealing that the recent national | 22 |
| foreclosure crisis has caused homelessness to rise | 23 |
| dramatically; and |
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| WHEREAS, Even though the current economic climate has | 2 |
| caused Illinois to face severe unprecedented budget | 3 |
| shortfalls, the generous grants awarded by President Obama have | 4 |
| prevented even more drastic budget cuts that would have been | 5 |
| implemented had this increase in funding not been available; | 6 |
| and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, Illinois legislators will approach the Fiscal | 8 |
| Year 2011 budget with as much caution as the Fiscal Year 2010 | 9 |
| budget, yet it is estimated that lagging revenues and continued | 10 |
| spending pressures will result in an even larger deficit, and, | 11 |
| without an infusion of funding from borrowing or another | 12 |
| source, the State's fiscal health will continue to decline; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, Multiple and varied groups throughout Illinois | 14 |
| are actively engaging in efforts to ameliorate the factors that | 15 |
| contribute to homelessness, as well as the condition of | 16 |
| homelessness itself; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois programs such as West Suburban PADS | 18 |
| annually assist over 850 people, including more than 92 | 19 |
| families, and over 158 children by offering more than 12,170 | 20 |
| nights of emergency shelter, 39,178 meals, 22,180 days and | 21 |
| nights of housing, and re-housing or preventing the loss of | 22 |
| housing for 352 men, women, and children; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois programs such as West Suburban PADS rely | 2 |
| on federal funding as the primary source for 5 housing programs | 3 |
| that provide supportive services such as: basic needs (showers, | 4 |
| laundry, transportation passes, identification cards, and | 5 |
| telecommunications equipment to facilitate long-term | 6 |
| employment), case management services, benefits coordination, | 7 |
| housing location and retention, employment services, medical | 8 |
| clinics, and legal clinics; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois programs such as Inner Voice have | 10 |
| received federal grants from government initiatives such as the | 11 |
| American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to bolster their | 12 |
| programs which include supportive services that annually | 13 |
| assist over 1,400 people who are homeless or at immediate risk | 14 |
| of becoming homeless and provide shelter and beds for over | 15 |
| 1,000 homeless individuals or families in need of emergency | 16 |
| shelter during the year; and
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| WHEREAS, Illinois programs serving the downstate area, | 18 |
| such as M.E.R.C.Y, annually provide over 30 families with | 19 |
| transitional living and permanent supportive housing services | 20 |
| and report a sharp increase in inquiries for services, a | 21 |
| substantial increase in referrals from neighboring communities | 22 |
| for supportive services, and identify children (there are | 23 |
| currently over 413 homeless children in Springfield, Illinois |
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| public schools) as the most underserved group by federal | 2 |
| efforts intended to alleviate homelessness; and
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| WHEREAS, Additional federal funding would allow Illinois | 4 |
| programs such as West Suburban PADS, Inner Voice, and | 5 |
| M.E.R.C.Y. to continue their efforts on a larger scale by | 6 |
| providing them with the resources to reach more people, to | 7 |
| provide more services, and thus to contribute on a much broader | 8 |
| scale to alleviating both the problems and the factors that | 9 |
| cause homelessness; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 11 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE | 12 |
| SENATE CONCURRING HEREIN, that we respectfully urge Congress | 13 |
| and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation to | 14 |
| support the continuation and extension of federal funding | 15 |
| directed towards eliminating the condition of homelessness in | 16 |
| Illinois that was made available by Government initiatives such | 17 |
| as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act of 2009 and | 18 |
| grants by President Obama; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That after adoption, suitable copies of this | 20 |
| resolution shall be delivered by the Clerk of the Illinois | 21 |
| House of Representatives to each member of the Illinois | 22 |
| Congressional Delegation and to President Obama.
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