Political Quotes

“I rise to join my colleague, the senior Senator from Vermont, in introducing the Runaway and Homeless Youth and Trafficking Prevention Act. This bill would update and reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs, which have provided life- saving services and housing for America's homeless youth for more than forty years. Homelessness is affecting youth in unprecedented numbers. According to a recent study by Voices of Youth Count, an estimated 4.2 million young people experience homelessness at some point each year. Some of these youth may stay away from home for a few nights, while others have been living on the streets for years. Approximately 73 percent experienced homelessness lasting more than one month. The study also found that homelessness is just as prevalent in rural communities as it is in urban communities. And sadly, these statistics likely underestimate the scale of this problem. This month, I met with teachers and specialists from Lewiston, Maine, who work directly with young people in Lewiston High School whose families experience homelessness. We talked about the pressures that student homelessness places on teachers, school administrators, and their already strapped resources, and, of course, on the children and teens themselves.…”