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Rep. Wild Advances Bill to Combat Youth Homelessness

Statement

Date: Jan. 14, 2020
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Unemployed and Low-Income Housing and Property

Today, U.S. Representative Susan Wild (PA-07) voted to pass H.R. 5191, the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Act of 2019, through the House Committee on Education and Labor. This bipartisan proposal to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act of 1974 would empower states to strengthen and expand services for young people facing homelessness in the Greater Lehigh Valley.

"In the Allentown School District, 700 children experiencing homelessness have been identified. 700 children in just one of the many school districts in our community. This is unacceptable," Wild said. "We owe these children, and the four million other teens and young adults experiencing homelessness as a result of family instability, parental rejection, or financial hardship, a fair shot at success. This legislation revives our commitment to ending youth homelessness by expanding and enhancing critical services that reinvest in the young people of the Greater Lehigh Valley."

The Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2019 reauthorizes $225 million for basic services and the transitional living program to assist youth experiencing homelessness in getting on a path to finding a permanent home. Additionally, this legislation authorizes $75 million for services that reach vulnerable youth living on the streets, including funds to strengthen the identification of and support for young people who have experienced sexual trafficking.

In addition to reauthorizing funding for federal youth homelessness programs, the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act of 2019:

Puts a greater focus on trauma-informed services;
Ensures that federal programs for homeless youth do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or disability. These groups all experience homelessness at disproportionate rates. The Human Rights Campaign further estimates that up to 40% of homeless youth identify as LGBTQ+.


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