BILL NUMBER: SCR 55 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Senator Liu
(Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Atkins)
AUGUST 17, 2011
Relative to California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month
Months .
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SCR 55, as amended, Liu. California Runaway and Homeless Youth
Month.
This measure would designate the months of November
2011 and November 2012 as California Runaway and Homeless
Youth Month Months , and would
recognize the need for individuals, schools, communities, businesses,
local governments, and the state to take action on behalf of runaway
and homeless youth in California.
Fiscal committee: no.
WHEREAS, Runaway and homeless youth are young people between 12
and 24 years of age who have the least access to essential
opportunities and supports; and
WHEREAS, The prevalence of runaway and homelessness among youth is
staggering, with studies nationally suggesting that between 1.6 and
2.8 million youth live on the street for at least one night in a
one-year period; and
WHEREAS, An estimated 200,000 youth under 18 years of age, and
thousands more who are 18 to 24 years of age, experience homelessness
each year in California; and
WHEREAS, An overwhelming majority of runaway and homeless youth
have been expelled from their homes by their families; physically,
sexually, and emotionally abused at home; discharged from foster care
and other state custodial systems without adequate transition plans;
separated from their parents by death or divorce; too poor to secure
their own basic needs; and ineligible or unable to access adequate
medical or mental health resources; and
WHEREAS, Runaway and homeless youth who live on the street are
victims of physical abuse, sexual exploitation, and crime in untold
numbers; and
WHEREAS, These youths are on the street because they feel there
are no other options open to them; and
WHEREAS, Youths who "age out" of the foster care system are at an
increased risk of homelessness, and represent an estimated 25 to 40
percent of the youth who are currently homeless; and
WHEREAS, Providing safe, stable, and permanent housing for runaway
and homeless youth is a family, community, state, and national
priority; and
WHEREAS, The future well-being of our state depends on the value
we place on our youth, and, in particular, on our actions to provide
the most vulnerable young people in the state with opportunities to
acquire the knowledge, skills, and abilities they need to find and
maintain stable housing and develop into healthy and productive
adults; and
WHEREAS, The number of effective programs providing services and
support to runaway and homeless youth in California is a fraction of
what is needed to fully address the needs of these young people; and
WHEREAS, The California Coalition for Youth has operated the
California Youth Crisis Line (1-800-843-5200), 24 hours a day, seven
days a week, for over 24 years as the state's only emergency response
system for youth in crisis; and
WHEREAS, November is National Runaway and Homeless Youth Awareness
Month; and
WHEREAS, The California Coalition for Youth, along with other
community-based organizations, providers, and advocates, are
sponsoring California's the second
annual California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month to
increase awareness and action on behalf of youth who are at risk or
currently living on the street; and
WHEREAS, Awareness of the tragedy of youth homelessness and its
causes must be heightened to ensure greater support for effective
programs aimed at preventing homelessness and helping youth remain
off the streets; now, therefore, be it
Resolved by the Senate of the State of California, the Assembly
thereof concurring, That the Legislature recognizes the need for
individuals, schools, communities, businesses, local governments, and
the state to take action on behalf of runaway and homeless youth in
California; and be it further
Resolved, That the Legislature hereby designates the
month months of November 2011 and November
2012 as California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month
Months .