House Concurrent Resolution 125

PAG LIN

  1  1           HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2                       BY  FALLON
  1  3 A Concurrent Resolution designating April 7, 2004, as
  1  4    Iowa Homeless Awareness Day.
  1  5    WHEREAS, the Iowa Homelessness Study conducted in
  1  6 2001 concluded that over 18,000 homeless people, with
  1  7 4,300 in Des Moines alone, and over 7,000 near=
  1  8 homeless people live in Iowa; and
  1  9    WHEREAS, nearly 60 percent of those homeless and
  1 10 near=homeless people are children, over 11 percent of
  1 11 those homeless and near=homeless people are less than
  1 12 five years of age, and unaccompanied children
  1 13 represent more than 10 percent of the homeless
  1 14 population; and
  1 15    WHEREAS, 82 percent of the homeless and 90 percent
  1 16 of the near=homeless single adult households with
  1 17 children are headed by a woman; and
  1 18    WHEREAS, family breakup, potential utility
  1 19 disconnection, and job loss are consistently the
  1 20 leading causes of homelessness; and
  1 21    WHEREAS, Iowa's homeless and near=homeless people
  1 22 exist in rural and urban areas, and in low=poverty and
  1 23 high=poverty communities; and
  1 24    WHEREAS, the poverty level population is defined by
  1 25 the federal poverty line, $16,588 in income for a
  1 26 family of four, which equates roughly to between 30
  1 27 percent and 50 percent of the median income in most
  1 28 Iowa counties; and
  1 29    WHEREAS, the lack of living wage jobs and
  1 30 affordable housing are reported as the most
  2  1 significant barriers to resolving homelessness in
  2  2 every type of community, and long=term economic
  2  3 solutions that create living wage jobs and affordable
  2  4 housing seem necessary to solve this crisis; NOW
  2  5 THEREFORE,
  2  6    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
  2  7 SENATE CONCURRING, That the General Assembly
  2  8 designates Wednesday, April 7, 2004, as Iowa Homeless
  2  9 Awareness Day, and invites the citizens of Iowa to
  2 10 increase their awareness of the causes of homelessness
  2 11 and seek to implement solutions to homelessness; and
  2 12    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the General Assembly
  2 13 requests that the Governor issue a proclamation
  2 14 calling upon the people of Iowa to observe Iowa
  2 15 Homeless Awareness Day with appropriate programs,
  2 16 ceremonies, and activities.
  2 17 LSB 6968HH 80
  2 18 rj/sh/8