BILL NUMBER: SCR 29	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY  JUNE 27, 2013

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Liu

                        APRIL 1, 2013

   Relative to California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SCR 29, as amended, Liu. California Runaway and Homeless Youth
Month.
   This measure would designate the month of November 2013 as
California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month  ,  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 runaways and homelessness among youth
is staggering, with studies suggesting that nationally between 1.6
and  1.8   2.8  million youth up to 24
years of age experience homelessness every  year; 
 year, of which an overrepresentation are gay, lesbian, bisexual,
or transgender;  and
   WHEREAS, Based on national surveys and California's youth
population, an estimated 200,000 youth under 18 years of age, and
thousands more who are 18 to 24 years of age, are homeless for one or
more days each year; 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, Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) youth make
up a disproportionate share of the homeless youth population, with
estimates suggesting that LGBT youth compromise over 40 percent of
the homeless youth population despite compromising only 10 percent of
the general youth population; 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 20 percent
of the 20,000 youth who leave foster care and 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 25 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, is
sponsoring the third 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 of
November 2013 as California Runaway and Homeless Youth Month; and be
it further
   Resolved, That the Secretary of the Senate transmit copies of this
resolution to the author for appropriate distribution.