Full Text of SJR0035 98th General Assembly
SJ0035 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Veterans of the United States Armed Forces served | 3 | | their country selflessly and honorably; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Veterans face numerous barriers to stable | 5 | | employment and stable environments; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Returning veterans who have served since 2001 have | 7 | | an unemployment rate 3.2% higher than the general population, | 8 | | which is just one contributing factor to many economic | 9 | | hardships they may face; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, All veterans have a higher risk of mental health | 11 | | issues, which may include, but is not limited to, | 12 | | post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression, and | 13 | | substance abuse; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Many contributing factors lead to veterans, who | 15 | | comprise 7% of the total population, being 13% of the homeless | 16 | | population; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois State Senate and the | 18 | | Illinois House of Representatives recognize the need to ensure | 19 | | for the well-being of all veterans, to better protect homeless | 20 | | veterans, and to help homeless veterans reenter society as |
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| 1 | | productive citizens; and | 2 | | WHEREAS, The licensing of halfway houses, shelters, and | 3 | | transitional housing programs that service homeless veterans, | 4 | | and oversight of such facilities and programs by local housing | 5 | | and community mental health boards, should be provided to | 6 | | protect the rights of homeless veterans; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 8 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES | 9 | | CONCURRING HEREIN, that there is created the Homeless Veteran | 10 | | Protection Task Force; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall consist of one | 12 | | representative from the Department of Veterans' Affairs, | 13 | | chosen by the Director of Veterans' Affairs; one representative | 14 | | from homeless shelters, chosen by the Governor; one | 15 | | representative from the Department of Human Services, chosen by | 16 | | the Secretary of Human Services; one representative from the | 17 | | Department of Public Health, chosen by the Director of Public | 18 | | Health; and one representative from local governments, chosen | 19 | | by the Governor; and be it further | 20 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall conduct a comprehensive | 21 | | study with the goal of determining necessary protections and | 22 | | oversights of homeless shelters to better protect the rights of |
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| 1 | | homeless veterans; and be it further | 2 | | RESOLVED, That the members of the Task Force shall serve | 3 | | without compensation; and be it further | 4 | | RESOLVED, That the Department of Veterans' Affairs shall | 5 | | provide staffing and administrative services to the Task Force | 6 | | upon request; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That the Task Force shall submit a report of its | 8 | | findings to the Governor and the four legislative leaders no | 9 | | later than January 15, 2014.
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