Supporting efforts to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for homeless youth and youth in other high-risk situations.

Mr. Speaker, what an honor to be able to join my colleagues this evening and to again thank the distinguished gentleman from Illinois for using the terminology: There are no throwaways.

Let me thank the manager Member, Mr. Osborne, for his leadership; Mr. Gilchrest, delighted to have a good Speaker in the Chair from Texas.

I rise today because I believe that this is an important statement that is being made today on the floor of the House. I do want to capture those words again that our young people are not throw, there are no throwaways. I say it very often as I go to schools or interact with young people that we meet in our congressional districts and really around the Nation.

I spent some time with Covenant House and spent some time on the streets as they invited me in one of their night outs to be able to interact with homeless youth, to hear their stories, to hear their feeling about, in essence, being thrown away or thrown out.

I do not think most Americans dwell on the fact that there are some 1.6 million to 2.8 million homeless young people. That means that they have barely a place to be more than one night. And there are these good Samaritans, these people who hold vigils on the streets of America, trying to protect our young people.

It was a shocking experience as I stood on a cold night in Houston, Texas, gets a little cold there sometimes in the wintertime, as we gathered under a streetlight. The word had gone out that Covenant House was out and about, that you could come and hear a little music, get a little food and talk, to hear some of the stories of these young people who had either been sexually abused or who had been emotionally abused or had been physically abused, to hear them tell stories of guardians or parents who themselves were addicted and other problems that were associated with the household, and there was no comfort.

So I find that this resolution should do a number of things. As my colleagues have said, it should reemphasize and thank those who are out with our young people, the various ministries, the Boys and Girls Club, the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, but, as well, the agencies that go out during the night to find these young people.

But, again, it should say that we are not doing enough. And we should also say that there are role models, that there is something to live for, and that we should not be ashamed of trying to enhance the funding to provide transitional pathways for young people to transition into adulthood, provide them with interim housing as they move from 17, 18, 19, which causes them to be homeless.

Because one of the major problems is what we call ``aging out'' in foster care, where you have gotten to a certain age at 18, 17, 18 in some States. And many of us who have young people in our homes, we raised our children, they are in their 20s, and you are taking care of them. So you age out in a foster care system, and you have no place to go, and you have been in foster care for 10, 15 years, or 10 years or 5 years.

We see this as a prevalent situation that leads to disaster. This may be indirect, but I want young people to understand that they are important.

I raise this picture of this beautiful young lady on the front page of the Washington Post today by the name of Emily J.T. Perez. The headline reads, West Point Mourns a Font of Energy, Laid to Rest By War.

The story is about a young woman who, unfortunately, lost her life on the front lines of Iraq. But the story describes an outstanding, energetic, committed patriot and the first African American woman sergeant at West Point. She was a young person. She lost her life. But she certainly represents the best of our youth.

In the midst of homeless youth, there are those who are the best. And this resolution, I think, focuses our attention on providing more resources so that we can ensure that the young people, homeless that they may be, will not have despair but will have a future and will be affirmed by this Nation that they can contribute.

I rise in support of this legislation, but I ask my colleagues as this session wanes down, let us commit ourselves, if we are fortunate enough to be reelected by our constituents, to come back and fund opportunities for providing for homeless youth, to give them a future.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1009, a bill supporting efforts to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and support for homeless youth and youth in other high-risk situations.

As the Chairwoman of the Congressional Children's Caucus, I am integrally involved in the efforts of Congress to help protect and look after the children of this Nation, and to ensure that they have an equal opportunity to learn, to grow, to achieve, and most importantly, to dream.

Youth that end up on the streets or in emergency shelters are often those who have been thrown out of their homes by their families. These youth are also, tragically, more likely to have been physically, sexually, or emotionally abused at home. It is also common for these youth to have been discharged by State custodial systems without adequate transition plans. Many have lost their parents through death or divorce, and many are too poor to secure their own basic needs. It is clear that this situation is a family, community, and national concern.

The prevalence of runaway and homeless youth in the Nation is an epidemic. Studies suggest that between 1,600,000 and 2,800,000 young people live on the streets of the United States each year. Running away from home occurs across the country. A staggering 1 out of every 7 children in the United States running away before the age of 18.

The future well-being of the Nation is dependent upon how we value our young people. The opportunities we provide for our youth to attain the ability and the knowledge needed to develop into safe, healthy, and productive adults.

When it comes to our young people--all of our young people--including our runaway, throwaway and homeless youth--we must always be willing to stand up, to speak up, and to never give up.

I encourage my colleagues to support this bill.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1009) supporting efforts to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for homeless youth and youth in other high-risk situations.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on House Resolution 1009.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

I rise today in support of H. Res. 1009, which seeks to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for youth in high-risk situations. I would like to thank the leadership for allowing this resolution to come to the House floor, as it highlights a very tragic and important issue.

Runaway episodes among our Nation's youth are serious and widespread, with one of every seven children and youth in the United States running away or being turned out of the home before the age of 18. That constitutes roughly 15 to 17 percent of our young people. A recent study by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estimates that nearly 1.7 million youth experienced a runaway or thrown-away episode in a single year. The prevalence of runaway and homeless youth in the Nation is astounding, with studies suggesting that between 1.6 million and 2.8 million young people live on the streets of the United States each year.

The primary factors of running away or being turned out of a home are severe family conflict, abuse and neglect, and parental abuse of alcohol and drugs.

And parenthetically I might add, Mr. Speaker, that I coached some young men, one of whom I remember very vividly who was turned out of his home at age 11 because the boyfriend who was living with that young man's mother and the young guy couldn't get along; so the young guy went and spent 2 or 3 years living on the streets. And that certainly left an impression and scarring on that young man that I do not think he ever completely overcame.

Many of the conditions that lead young people to leave or be turned out of their homes are preventable through interventions that can strengthen families and support youth in high-risk situations. Successful interventions are grounded in partnerships among families, community-based human service agencies, law enforcement agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, and even businesses.

The National Network for Youth and the National Runaway Switchboard have collaborated since 2002 in cosponsoring the National Runaway Prevention Month during the month of November. National Runaway Prevention Month is a public education initiative aimed at increasing the awareness of issues facing runaways as well as making the public aware of the role they play in preventing youth from running away. As a result of this collaboration, communities across the country have undertaken a range of activities to commemorate National Runaway Prevention Month.

Preventing young people from running away and supporting youth in high-risk situations is a family, community, and national concern. Please join us in encouraging all Americans to play a role in supporting the millions of young people who have run away and who are at risk of doing so each year. H. Res. 1009 supports efforts to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for youth in high-risk situations.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, at this time I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. Gilchrest).

I thank the gentleman. We share a strong interest in young people, and we are often together on bills. And I would like to thank Mr. Davis for all that he does. I would also like to thank Mr. Porter for authoring this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and yield back the balance of my time.

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.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Jackson-Lee).

Mr. Speaker, in closing, I want to thank the gentlewoman from Texas for her statement and for the energy that she puts into everything that she does.

I also want to again commend Mr. Porter for introducing this resolution and thank Mr. Osborne and say that, when he is not here, I am going to miss him tremendously, because he is a real advocate for young people, and I have never seen anyone do it more effectively or do it better.

Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding. I want to thank Mr. Porter for the legislation; Mr. Osborne, Mr. Davis, and the staff for bringing this to the floor and for bringing it to the attention of the Members; and, Mr. Speaker, to the general public at large.

The community service for youth across this great Nation is, I think, for the most part, doing one of the best jobs it can for the youth of America who are homeless, who each day, instead of a bright, sunlit opportunity, they find despair, and they do not know what hope is. They do not know what joy is. But they probably know what a prison cell looks like at a very young age.

What this legislation does, and what we all should continue to pursue, is dedicate our words to the front line of service that Mr. Davis was talking about and Mr. Osborne has mentioned, those people who are mostly volunteers that provide the shelter, provide the hope, provide the work for these people who are homeless.

And what we hope this resolution will do, and what we should continue to work towards, is to create a better framework for homeless youth, that more people will get involved. The community service, the front line service, can be expanded to an immense pool of people that will spend just a very small amount of their time on a weekly or monthly basis if they go out into their community and find out where a homeless shelter is and then visit that homeless shelter and talk to those youth and give them hope and give them opportunity and let them know that someone cares about them. Create a Boy Scout troop for juvenile delinquents. Create a Boy Scout troop or a Girl Scout troop for people who are homeless, who are living in homeless shelters.

Almost 40 years ago, my brothers and a couple other people who had not gone to college, we all got out of the service. We had just gotten out of Vietnam, and we got involved with a minister and a lawyer that created a Boy Scout troop for people who committed felonies. We created a Boy Scout troop for juvenile delinquents. And the way to get in that Boy Scout troop was that you had to have committed a felony or you had to be homeless or one of those categories. And it transformed their lives.

This Sunday in my district, we are going to have a picnic for 30 homeless children and, if they come, their parents. And what we are going to do is we are going to walk through the woods, we are going to feel the cool shade of the forest, and we are going to identify trees and we are going to talk about nature's design. Then we are going to take them on a short canoe ride and walk them on the beaches of the Sassafras River. But we are going to show them that in their dreary, hopeless life, there are magnificent opportunities.

The people on the front line need help. There is a massive amount of opportunity out there for people to see something that they don't see every day, to find out where a homeless shelter is in your community, and then go and talk to the people who service those homeless shelters, talk to the people who fund those homeless shelters, and talk to the people who are in those homeless shelters and provide them with dignity, respect, hope, and opportunity. It is a matter of initiative, ingenuity, courage, and compassion. And it can all be done.

And I want to thank Mr. Osborne, Mr. Davis, and Mr. Porter and his staff for this great resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1009 which seeks to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources and supports for youth in high-risk situations. I would like to thank the leadership for allowing this resolution to come to the House floor as it highlights a very tragic and important issue.

Runaway episodes among our Nation's youth are serious and widespread, with one out of every seven children and youth in the United States running away or being turned out of the home before the age of 18. A recent study by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention estimates that nearly 1.7 million youth experienced a runaway or thrown away episode in a single year. The prevalence of runaway and homeless youth in the Nation is astounding; with studies suggesting that between 1.6 million and 2.8 million young people live on the streets of the United States each year. The primary factors of running away or being turned out of a home are severe family conflict, abuse and neglect, and parental abuse of alcohol and drugs.

In the district that I represent in southern Nevada, the statistics are similar. In the year 2003, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported 4,527 runaways. There were approximately 3,500 children who required emergency shelter. Eighteen hundred of these children were placed in foster care. In

addition to that, the Clark County School District estimates that 3,500 of our students were homeless. These astonishing statistics highlight the need for our support of those important programs that seek to prevent these types of incidents.

Many of the conditions that lead young people to leave or be turned out of their homes are preventable through interventions that can strengthen families and support youth in high-risk situations. Successful interventions are grounded in partnerships among families, community-based human service agencies, law enforcement agencies, schools, faith-based organizations and businesses.

The National Network for Youth and the National Runaway Switchboard have collaborated since 2002 in cosponsoring National Runaway Prevention Month during the month of November. National Runaway Prevention Month is a public education initiative aimed at increasing the awareness of issues facing runaways as well as making the public aware of the role they play in preventing youth from running away. As a result of this collaboration, communities across the country have undertaken a range of activities to commemorate National Runaway Prevention Month.

Preventing young people from running away and supporting youth in high-risk situations is a family, community and national concern. Please join us in encouraging all Americans to play a role in supporting the millions of young people who have run away and who are at risk of doing so each year. H. Res. 1009 supports efforts to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources and supports for youth in high-risk situations.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.