Supporting efforts to promote greater awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for homeless youth.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 484) supporting efforts to promote greater awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for homeless youth.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks on H. Res. 484.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 484, which seeks to promote greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and support 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 very important issue.

Runaway and thrown-away episodes among our Nation's youth are serious and widespread, with one of every seven children and youths 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 of America each year.

The primary factors of running away or being thrown away are severe family conflict, abuse, neglect, and parental abuse of alcohol and of drugs. In the wake of massive loss of life and property after the recent natural disasters, we can expect these numbers to rise. We must congratulate service providers for their response to the increased numbers of displaced youth as a result of these terrible tragedies.

In the district I represent in southern Nevada, the statistics are similar. In 2003, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department reported 4,527 runaways. There were approximately 3,500 children who required emergency shelter; 1,800 of these children were placed in foster care. In addition to that, the Clark County School District estimates 3,500 of our students were homeless.

These astonishing statistics highlight the need for our support of those very important programs that seek to prevent these types of incidences. Many of the conditions that lead young people to leave or be turned out of their homes are preventable through interventions that strengthen family and support youth in high-risk situations. Successful interventions are grounded in partnerships among families and community-based human service agencies, law enforcement agencies, schools, faith-based organizations, and the business community.

The National Network For Youth and the National Runaway Switchboard are collaborative 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 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, who are at risk of doing so each year.

H. Res. 484 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, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 484, a resolution which supports efforts to promote greater awareness of effective prevention programs for youth at-risk of running away from home and the need for safe and productive alternatives, resources, and supports for homeless youth. The resolution also commemorates National Runaway Prevention Month.

The statistics of runaway and homeless youth are staggering: 1.6 million youth are on the streets every day; more than 1,200 youth run away from home each day; and 1 out of every 7 children in the United States runs away from home before the age of 18. It's not easy being a kid today. The decisions and concerns confronting kids today are tougher than ever: peer pressure, drug/alcohol abuse, and more. Some face pregnancy or AIDS. Many more are experiencing violence in the streets, at home, and in the classroom.

For the estimated 1.6 million kids living on the street, these dilemmas may be especially difficult because there is all too often no one to talk to. These youth thought they could escape their problems by running away, only to encounter even more problems.

That is why I support the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS)'s mission which serves as the federally-designated national communication system for homeless and runaway youth. While its national headquarters is in my district in Chicago, NRS provides services to youth and families across the country. Without organizations such as the National Runaway Switchboard, over a million youth each year would have nowhere to turn during a time of crisis. Established in 1971, NRS is recognized as the oldest hotline in the world. With the support of more than 150 volunteers, NRS handled over 111,000 calls last year and more than 3 million calls in its 34-year history. NRS provides crisis intervention, referrals to local resources, and education and prevention services to youth, families and community members throughout the country 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Over 10,000 youth have been reunited with their families through the NRS Home Free program.

On April 18, 2005, I joined Executive Director, Maureen Blaha, at NRS headquarters to unveil NRS's new 800 number, 1-800-RUNAWAY to the American public. NRS also announced the establishment of a new web site, www.1800RUNAWAY.org to match its new signature 800 number. These new initiatives are intended to provide vulnerable and at-risk youth with an easy name and number to remember when they are experiencing crisis and looking for help. The NRS hopes to offer its services to more and more youth with the rollout of 1-800-RUNAWAY.

Now is the time to protect the vulnerable and support our youth. Tomorrow's leaders are running away from homes and falling into a life of uncertainty, violence, and crime. I urge my colleagues to join me in this fight to save tomorrow's leaders; vote ``yes'' on H. Res. 484.

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Res. 484, in recognition of National Runaway Prevention Month. I would like to commend the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Porter) for bringing it to the floor.

The prevalence of runaway and homeless youth in our Nation is staggering, with studies suggesting that between 1.6 and 2.8 million young people live on the streets of the United States each year. Each year roughly 5,000 of these troubled young people die from assault, illness, and in some cases from suicide. In my home State of Texas, more than 100,000 young people ages 7 through 17 run away from home each year. It is literally a matter of life and death that we raise awareness and do everything in our power to prevent runaways.

In the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the system of support for runaway and homeless youths is being stretched to the limit. This is especially true in Texas where many of the victims of these terrible storms have sought refuge.

National Runaway Prevention Month is a time to encourage the development of community-based solutions to prevent runaway and homeless episodes among our Nation's youths. More importantly, it is a time to draw attention to the need for resources to combat this problem.

During National Runaway Prevention Month, the National Runaway Switchboard and the National Network For Youth seek to raise community member awareness of the widespread nature of runaway situations and the importance of strengthening families and engaging their involvement in crisis intervention communities.

In Texas, our hotline started in 1973 as Operation Peace of Mind after the devastating discovery of 27 young men, many runaways, who were brutally murdered. Today, our hotline operates 24 hours a day and provides critical services which include the following:

Crisis intervention and counseling; information and referrals for callers seeking food, shelter and transportation home; confidential conference calls between youth and their families;

and, yes, it provides a message service to promote communication between runaways and their families.

Mr. Speaker, runaways are the Nation's most vulnerable youth. We must be united in helping them find a safe, healthy, and productive place where they can fulfill their potential. I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Minnesota (Ms. McCollum).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to my good friend and colleague from the great State of Illinois (Mr. Davis).

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

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Res. 484, a resolution introduced by our colleague from Nevada, Mr. Porter, to recognize the value of runaway youth prevention programs and the needs of homeless and at-risk youth. Our consideration of this resolution today is timely given that October is recognized as National Runaway Prevention Month.

In my district, we have benefited greatly from the development and implementation of several runaway youth prevention programs. These programs have proven their effectiveness with increasing support from various members of our community. They have been built with support from families, parents, teachers, social workers, counselors, ministers, and other civic-minded citizens in our community. They have also been supplemented with important grant assistance from both the local and federal government. Their effectiveness is worth promoting and increasing awareness of the needs of our homeless and at-risk youth is an important undertaking.

I take this opportunity to share the story of just one particular organization in Guam that has grown to fulfill these needs of Guam's homeless and at-risk youth. As a member of the National Network for Youth, Sanctuary, Inc. has developed and sponsored many important programs serving our homeless and at-risk youth. Sanctuary, Inc. works in close collaboration with the Department of Youth Affairs of the Government of Guam as well as with the judicial system and the courts to identify ways to support our youth.

Through workshops, counseling, referral services, support groups, and especially with their annual summer parent-child conference, Sanctuary, Inc. works to strengthen family relationships and promotes a drug, alcohol and violence-free lifestyle among youth participants. Their after-school programs are especially effective in providing activities for our youth and complementing their classroom instruction. Apart from their programs, Sanctuary operates two temporary emergency shelters to accommodate our homeless youth, providing them with room and board and a family away from home.

I commend Sanctuary, Inc. for their outstanding work and their positive influence on our at-risk youth and their families. I urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 484. I too urge all of us to work together to increase awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs. Through these proven community-based programs we can help provide for a safer and more educational environment for our at-risk youth.

Mr. Speaker, today we will vote on a resolution in support of preventive programs; yet this Congress continues to underfund the critical resources needed to address the problems faced by these vulnerable youth.

Homelessness is merely a symptom of a bigger problem. For many youth, their home situation is violent and it is unhealthy. The Wilder Foundation, a nonprofit health and human service organization that has served the greater St. Paul area since 1906, understands this issue well. They tell us that children who run away are three times more likely to have been physically abused, five times more likely to have been treated for drug and alcohol problems. These young adults need our help, they need our support, and they need the opportunity to know that they can get their lives back on track. And there are many in our community and across this country who are ready to serve homeless youths.

In Minnesota there are groups such as the Ain Dah Yung Center, serving Native American youths; the Bridge For Runaway Youth, and they are working hard to provide critical services.

When I visited one of the homeless shelters for youth just recently, I found out that they had to cut their hours back, that they could not provide a safe haven for children to escape the cold during the day and to get counseling, to reunite them with their families when possible or to put them in a place where they would be safe. These children need our assistance. They need a partner at the Federal level, one that they can count on, not only for well-intentioned resolutions but the dollars needed to provide those resources, those safe havens, especially as winter sets in on these young adults in Minnesota.

They need resources. They need beds. They need counselors. But most of all they need to know, our children need to know that Congress is prepared to vote for them and to approve not only this resolution but in the future the resources needed in order for them to turn their lives around.

Our children deserve our hope for a better future for them, and they deserve an opportunity to have that future.