III 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 423 

Recognizing November 2019 as ‘‘National Homeless Children and Youth 

Awareness Month’’. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 14, 2019 

Mr. MANCHIN (for himself, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. 

BOOKER, Mr. LANKFORD, Ms. HIRONO, Ms. HASSAN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, 

Mr. COONS, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, Mr. PETERS, and Mr. REED) submitted 

the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Recognizing November 2019 as ‘‘National Homeless Children 

and Youth Awareness Month’’. 

Whereas, in the United States, public schools identified approximately 1,300,000 homeless children and youth during the 2016–2017 school year; 

Whereas an estimated 1,200,000 children younger than 6 

years of age in 2014 and approximately 4,200,000 youth 

and young adults in 2017 experienced homelessness, with 

many such youth and young adults staying on couches, 

in motels, in shelters, or outside; 

Whereas infants who are homeless are at a higher risk for 

developing certain illnesses and health conditions, homeless families are more likely to experience involvement in 


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•SRES 423 ATS 

the child welfare system, and homeless children are more 

likely to experience difficulty with school attendance; 

Whereas a recent survey found that more than 1 in 3 high 

school students experiencing homelessness had attempted 

suicide, and nearly 1 in 4 high school students experiencing homelessness had experienced dating violence; 

Whereas individuals without a high school degree or general 

educational development certificate (GED) are more than 

3 times more likely to report homelessness than their 

peers, making lack of education the leading risk factor 

for homelessness; 

Whereas, in 2016, the high school graduation rate for homeless students was 64 percent, compared to 77 percent for 

low-income students and 84.6 percent for all students; 

Whereas the rate of youth homelessness is the same in rural, 

suburban, and urban areas; 

Whereas 29 percent of unaccompanied homeless youth between 13 and 25 years of age have spent time in foster 

care, compared to approximately 6 percent of all children; 

Whereas homelessness among children and youth is a complex issue that often co-occurs with deep poverty, low 

education and employment levels, substance misuse and 

abuse, mental illness, lack of affordable housing, and 

family conflict; and 

Whereas awareness of child and youth homelessness must be 

heightened to encourage greater support for effective programs to help children and youth overcome homelessness: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 


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•SRES 423 ATS 

1 (1) supports the efforts of businesses, organiza2 tions, educators, and volunteers dedicated to meeting 

3 the needs of homeless children and youth; 

4 (2) applauds the initiatives of businesses, orga5 nizations, educators, and volunteers that— 

6 (A) use time and resources to raise aware7 ness of child and youth homelessness, the 

8 causes of such homelessness, and potential solu9 tions; and 

10 (B) work to prevent homelessness among 

11 children and youth; 

12 (3) recognizes November 2019 as ‘‘National 

13 Homeless Children and Youth Awareness Month’’; 

14 and 

15 (4) encourages those businesses, organizations, 

16 educators, and volunteers to continue to intensify 

17 their efforts to address homelessness among children 

18 and youth during November 2019. 

Æ 


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