House Concurrent Resolution 15 - Introduced

PAG LIN





  1  1           HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO.    
  1  2       BY  FALLON, BERRY, BUKTA, COHOON, DANDEKAR,
  1  3     DAVITT, FOEGE, FORD, FREVERT, HEDDENS, HUNTER,
  1  4     JACOBY, JOCHUM, KRESSIG, KUHN, LENSING, LYKAM,
  1  5    MASCHER, MERTZ, MILLER, MURPHY, OLDSON, D. OLSON,
  1  6  R. OLSON, PETERSEN, PETTENGILL, REICHERT, SCHUELLER,
  1  7  SHOMSHOR, SMITH, SWAIM, D. TAYLOR, T. TAYLOR, THOMAS,
  1  8   WENDT, WESSEL=KROESCHELL, WHITAKER, WHITEAD, WISE,
  1  9                     and ZIRKELBACH
  1 10 A Concurrent Resolution designating November 13
  1 11    through 19, 2005, as Iowa Homeless Awareness Week.
  1 12    WHEREAS, the Iowa Homelessness Study conducted in
  1 13 2001 concluded that over 18,000 homeless people, with
  1 14 4,300 in Des Moines alone, and over 7,000 near=
  1 15 homeless people live in Iowa; and
  1 16    WHEREAS, the 2001 report indicates that nearly 60
  1 17 percent of those homeless and near=homeless people are
  1 18 children, over 11 percent of those homeless and near=
  1 19 homeless people are less than five years of age, and
  1 20 unaccompanied children represent more than 10 percent
  1 21 of the homeless population; and
  1 22    WHEREAS, 82 percent of the homeless and 90 percent
  1 23 of the near=homeless single adult households with
  1 24 children are headed by a woman; and
  1 25    WHEREAS, family breakup, potential utility
  1 26 disconnection, and job loss are consistently the
  1 27 leading causes of homelessness; and
  1 28    WHEREAS, Iowa's homeless and near=homeless people
  1 29 exist in rural and urban areas, and in low=poverty and
  1 30 high=poverty communities; and
  2  1    WHEREAS, the poverty level population is defined by
  2  2 the federal poverty line, $19,350 in income for a
  2  3 family of four, which equates roughly to between 30
  2  4 percent and 50 percent of the median income in most
  2  5 Iowa counties; and
  2  6    WHEREAS, the lack of living wage jobs and
  2  7 affordable housing are reported as the most
  2  8 significant barriers to resolving homelessness in
  2  9 every type of community, and long=term economic
  2 10 solutions that create living wage jobs and affordable
  2 11 housing seem necessary to solve this crisis; NOW
  2 12 THEREFORE,
  2 13    BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, THE
  2 14 SENATE CONCURRING, That the General Assembly
  2 15 designates the week of November 13 through 19, 2005,
  2 16 as Iowa Homeless Awareness Week, and invites the
  2 17 citizens of Iowa to increase their awareness of the
  2 18 causes of homelessness and seek to implement solutions
  2 19 to homelessness; and
  2 20    BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the General Assembly
  2 21 requests that the Governor issue a proclamation
  2 22 calling upon the people of Iowa to observe Iowa
  2 23 Homeless Awareness Week with appropriate programs,
  2 24 ceremonies, and activities.
  2 25 LSB 2761HH 81
  2 26 jr:rj/sh/8