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