crisis. there's a lot else going on, and you do the best you can. but you, you can be sure you won't have all the information you need. but that does not obviate the need sometimes to decide. >> i think we probably have time for one more. one more question, and we'll go to this side because -- >> yeah. my question concerns the influence of the media on our making of foreign policy, and specifically my target is 24/7 news. and et seems to me that -- it seems to me that 24/7 news spends more time generating the news and interviewing each other rather than reporting the news. and my -- [applause] and i think it leads to a lot of polarization not just between various cable channels that we're all aware of, but also

sometimes the conservative channel or liberal channel, they seem to argue with each other and polarize each other -- >> i'll start off because i'm a media person. [laughter] >> i knew you'd have thoughts on this one. >> it is a problem. i'm an old school reporter. i'm not one who likes to take positions or will take positions on things, but it's not just the velocity of the news cycle, it's the whole notion of the provocation in the news cycle. everything has to be pushed to its extreme, you have to have immediate decisions. i remember when president clinton first took over his communication director at the time said that there was a missile strike, and he turned on the tv and said the commentators were already talking about the success or failure of the mission, and they hadn't even landed yet. [laughter] so, to me, it's a huge problem, but it's not just the 24-hour news cycle, it's the idea that more and more in our business we're pushed to make snap judgments to push things as far

as we can in commenting on them, and i think that doesn't help anybody. so anyway -- prison. >> you know, i -- it's easy and fashionable to either dump on the 24/7 and all this and it, obviously, puts some pressure -- >> i know jane does a lot of it. [laughter] >> it puts a lot, some pressure on the administration. but i have to say in some ways i think if you look back over the last 20 years, i think presidents and decision makers are starting to get used to it and are beginning to figure out that at the end of the day you're vindicated or lynched by the results of what you do. you make your decision. you know you're going to get beaten up and battered around, and everybody's trying to pick up the plant to see if it's growing. [laughter] but in the end you're judged by the outcomes. and i think, i'm getting the sense now that in some ways we're learning as policymakers how to adjust to that and to at least, you know, kind of steel ourselves for the short term and hang in there when you have some

convictions about what you're trying to do and then fairly or unfairly be judged, you know, by the outcome and not by where you are minute by minute. >> i just want to say one thing, then over to jane. we can talk about 24-hour news cycle, but i think one of the things that is important is that a free media is terribly important in this country. and as a national security practitioner, you know, the news was a terrific source of information. especially some of these intrepid reporters that are out in combat zones or in places like afghanistan for months on end and have a perspective that is extremely important for people in washington to get so, you know, there are tensions between the government and the press, but it is a terrific resource for this country. [applause] jane, last word. >> i agree. i would just add one thing from my perspective which is

different, i think, from steve's and jim's, and that is if you're running for elected office, the pressures around you -- this is certainly true for a president where the decisions are even bigger -- from organized groups of different kinds are huge and they don't give you room to think and deliberate. it is hard to find room to think and deliberate, and it takes enormous courage to tell any one of those passionate groups, let's assume they're well spend. i'm not sure that would apply to all of them, but passionate groups that are in your face about you have to do this. back off, i'm going to think about this. and what i do may not please any of the, you know, passionate people yelling at me, um, but it's going to be what i think is the right thing to do. and martialing the personal courage and the energy to do that is very hard. and so i think it's human nature, people punt on some of

these decisions. punt means take the easier course, whatever that is. let's just do this one because the pressure will be too hard if we don't. and that's not so good for sound policy. it is my hope that someday soon the screaming and screeching and the amount of money in our political system will reduce, and we will let our best people encourage them back in to -- including a lot of younger people who are very good at this -- to running for office and to be in what was supposed to be the greatest deliberative body on earth. that would be the united states congress. i think that would be a huge help for our, for our republic. and similarly, as we elect presidents instead of having silly season where the most outrageous thing gets the most attention, wouldn't it be nice if most intelligent thing got the most attention? [laughter]

[applause] >> thank you very much. [applause] so that are conclude our panel -- that will conclude our panel. i want to thank henry, jim, steve, and jane for being with us. i want to thank you all for being with us, for taking an interest in this very important theme. thank you very much. [applause] [inaudible conversations] >> you can follow the iowa caucuses on the c-span networks beginning with a preview program just before 7 eastern over on c-span. at 7:45 we'll bring you coverage

from inside a caucus in urbandale in central iowa followed by results and speeches and your phone calls. that's on c-span. here on c-span2 live coverage begins at 7:45 at a caucus in western iowa. then we'll get results from a tv station in des moines. >> go to facebook.com/c-span for more coverage of tonight's caucuses, exclusive behind the scenes pictures of c-span on the ground in iowa, plus the road to the white house video clip of the day. add your comments and vote in our facebook poll question, will the winners of tonight's caucuses become the presidential nominee? right now at facebook.com/c-span. >> last month a house financial services subcommittee held a hearing on homeless children and housing assistance. we'll hear from current and former homeless children as well as government officials. this is two hours, 40 minutes.

[inaudible conversations] >> the subcommittee on -- the subcommittee on insurance, housing and community opportunity will come to order. we are having a hearing today entitle led the homeless chirp and youth act of 2011 proposal to promote economic independence for homeless children and youth. i'd like to welcome you all here today and, first of all, i'd like to thank the judiciary committee for allowing us to hold our hearing in this room. we usually are on the, at the, obviously, at the financial services committee, but they're doing some work to fix the walls because of the earthquake that occurred about a month ago. never thought that washington would have to repair walls from

earthquakes, but that's the way it is. and i will, we'll now turn to opening statements, and without objection all members' opening statements will be made part of the record, and i will yield myself such time as i -- good morning, everyone, and i would like to welcome our special guests on panel one and especially the current or former homeless children and youth also in the audience. so welcome, welcome to you. and thank you so much for being here. and we hope that your first experience -- i assume that's your first experience -- with the u.s. congress as a witness or in the audience here is a good one, one that will help many children in the, in this country. and i'd also like to recognize a now-formerly homeless family that was featured on "60 minutes" recently, the metzger family, ariel, usa season and their dad, tom.

so maybe raise your hand so we can see where you are. thank you. thanks for being here. you know, children should not be without a home, and they would, should not have to fight to prove that they are homeless, and on this i hope we all agree. and today's hearing will examine h.r. 32, the homeless children and youth act of 2011, which will expand the mckinty-vin toe definition of homeless person so that homeless children and youth verified as homeless by other federal programs can access hud's housing and services. we have a unique opportunity to hear from witnesses about the bureaucratic barriers that are preventing homeless children and youth from securing hud homeless assistance. our ultimate goal is to insure that homeless children and youth are eligible for hud homeless house zing and supportive services, secure and more stable

housing as well as supportive services will help kids stay in school and avoid becoming tomorrow's homeless adults. these goals must be a top priority for federal agencies that have homeless programs. if federal programs are not working for the people they are intended to serve, it's our job to find the flaws and reform those programs. and during the past decade two significant reforms to the mckinney-vinto act have been intended to help children and youth to more easily secure homeless assistance. but our work is not complete. this week the national center on family homelessness released a report revealing that one out of every 45 children in the united states is homeless. the department of education reported that student homelessness is on the rise. there are nearly one million homeless children in the united states, and these statistics are absolutely unacceptable.

our subcommittee will work to identify the federal red tape that is standing in the way of local providers who are helping homeless children and youth to increase what they can do. we will pursue reform measures that break down those barriers. one such reform measure, h.r. 32, our subcommittee will likely consider when we come back in 2012. with that, i would recognize the gentleman from missouri, mr. cleaver, for opening statement. >> thank you, madam chair. i would like to, first of all, extend a very warm welcome to the two young men and four young women who are testifying before this committee. and you are having an experience that hardly any other individuals your age will ever have.

and that means that you're now famous -- [laughter] you can start your own reality tv show. thank you for being here. to share your own personal experiences. you can't turn on the television or go out any place during this time of year without seeing at least the attempt to create a festive environment. this is a holiday season that generally captures the attention of just about everybody in this country. it is difficult, however, for me having read your testimony to feel the kind of festival atmosphere that i would normally

enter during this time of the year. why? i have four children, and while i look like i'm in my 30s, i actually have three grandchildren -- [laughter] and it is a bit painful to read your testimonies. there are, there's nothing that can touch my soul as much as finding pain with young people. in my real life, i'm a united methodist pass or to have -- pastor. and from time to time i do become involved in issues adversely affecting young people. and this testimony that i was able to read actually touched my

soul and caused me to do a great deal of thinking last night as i was trying to sleep. um, and in my struggles last night trying to sleep after having read this, i thought to myself what about all these other kids around the country who have no place to sleep? i'm in my bed across the street, i live in the methodist building, and i'm thinking i'm not able to sleep, and i thought, boy, this is terrible, and then i thought about people without a place to sleep, and that really created more pain. sometimes our discussions on the issues of homelessness can become extremely technical, and we become more involved in, um, you know, program descriptions

and specifics. but we cannot lose sight, we must not lose sight of the fact that this discussion today is about real people, real stories. and your testimony will help us to remember that. one thing we all know is that despite the efforts we have made over the past several years and the improvements that we've made with the hart act, there is still much that our federal agencies could do to improve coordination across programs and increase access to the services that are being provided. i think that today we'll hear some valuable perspectives on how we in congress can help, and i understand that our committee chair, ms. biggert, her bill is intended to reduce barriers to

services for children and youth who are in highly unstable housing situations but don't currently meet the hud definition of homeless. so i want to thank ms. biggert for her work, and, you know, there are very few conversations that we can have here in washington that will not include a discussion of dollars. for good or bad, that's the way it goes. and this discussion is no different. so we have to acknowledge that fact as we move forward. i want to thank you, madam chair, for what you've done and look forward to hearing your testimony. >> thank you, mr. cleaver. the gentleman from ohio, mr. stiverses, is recognized for three minutes. >> thank you, madam chairwoman, and i'd like to thank you for holding this hearing today to insure that homeless youth have access to services. i appreciate that. i'm pleased to welcome britney amber kuhn who grew up much of

her childhood in my district, and she recently joined the united states military, the army, and completed her number service and is -- her initial service and is stationed at fort hood, texas. i'm looking forward to hearing her testimony today, and i want to thank her and all the witnesses for sharing their stories. um, you know, i -- one of the things that private first class kuhn's testimony reminded me, she has a quote in there that she liked the idea of taking her leadership skills to the next level to serve her country, and she decided to go on active duty because she would have training and a stable place to live. we have a lot of young folks in this country who have a lot to offer, and many of them are fighting homelessness, and i can tell you i'm pleased to join that fight with private first class kuhns and try to fight homelessness. and i think i'm looking forward to hearing the testimony of all the witnesses today. i appreciate your time, looking forward to hearing your testimony and appreciate the

chairwoman for holding this hearing and looking forward to continuing the fight to make things better for young folks who are suffering from homelessness. thank you so much and welcome, private first class kuhn. >> thank you. mr. cleaver, you're recognized for -- >> thank you, madam chair. mr. george miller is here with us. he's not a member of this subcommittee, but i would ask unanimous consent to allow him to speak on this issue that he feels very strongly about. >> without objection. the gentleman from massachusetts is recognized for one minute. >> thank you, madam chair. madam chair, thank you for having this hearing, and i congratulate the young people who are here today. i don't think this is a usual situation. congress is not a usual place. so don't think this has anything to do with most of your real life. [laughter] but i want to be real clear. this proposal today is a good proposal. it's something that's long overdue, and i congratulate the chairlady for submitting it. but i also want to be very clear, this is not going to be

the final answer to ending homelessness with children or with others. the only way this country's going to do that is to put money on the table to build more affordable housing. simple. otherwise there'll be no place to go. simply getting a family into a shelter is better than not, but we can't just leave them in a shelter. that's not real advancement, that's not real opportunity. it is better than not, but we need to build affordable housing in this country right up the ladle, for the people on the bottom and the next rung up and the next rung up, and we need to make sure those people can afford to buy a home in today's world will be able to afford it tomorrow by keeping mortgage rates at a reasonable level. otherwise most of the world will be forced into subsidized housing. they can't get ooh home ownership, and if that that happens, we'll never be able to build our way out of it. so i want to be real clear, this is a good proposal that i strongly support and look forward to passing. but as far as i'm concerned if

we really want to get serious about addressing homelessness in this country which, to me, this is a national embarrassment that we have children on the streets. it's a national embarrassment that we have veterans on the streets. it's a national embarrassment that we don't take care of some of our people with mental challenges that are also on the street. i think it doesn't speak well for us as a society. so for me this is a great thing, but i want to be very clear that this will not end homelessness. the only way for us to do that as a society is to be honest about it and to try to put money on the table to build more affordable housing so that people will be able to move up the ladder on their own. madam chair, yield back the remainder of my time. >> thank you. mr. green from texas, you're recognized for two minutes. >> thank you, madam chair. please, permit me, madam chair, to thank you for hosting this hearing. it is without question one of

the most important hearings that we will have and one of the most important hearings i think that i've been a party to. so i'm grateful that you have had the vision and the foresight to cause us to visit these issues. i would like to concur with my colleagues who have stressed the importance of the issue. i would also want to stress the importance of the fact that we can solve the problem. it is not something that is beyond our ability to resolve. is so the question really isn't whether this is a way to resolve our issue of homelessness with young people, the question really is do we have the will, do we have the will to do it? if we but only have the will, this country which prides itself on its future will take charge and make sure that the future

continues to be bright for all of you our children. i thank you, and i yield back the balance of my time. >> thank you, mr. green. we're joined by ranking member miller, the ranking member of the education and work force committee, and thank you for joining us, and you're recognized for four minutes. >> thank you, chairwoman biggert, for holding this hearing. i want to thank you for your leadership on this issue and the committee on education and work force. you've been a consistent champion of homeless children and families, and it's a pleasure to partner with you. i also want to thank all the young people who are here to tell their stories today to the committee and to the congress. i can't tell you how important that congress hears directly on the realities that you and your families face because of the lack of adequate housing. i have served on the education committee for my entire time in public office, and i know what a

dramatic impact housing and mobility have on a student's education. public schools have a unique perspective on issues like homelessness. schools see the full range of children without housing. not just children and youth who make it in to a shelter, they see kids moving from place to place, from couch to basement, from car to motel then to another couch. none of these places should be considered a home. we know that the homelessness puts kids at risk, much higher risk of educational failures. students with unstable housing have more attendance problems, and they don't do as well in school. student homelessness is also often overlooked as a contributor to the nation's dropout crises. without an education these students will have more difficult time to obtain jobs that pay decent wages and are likely to experience homelessness as an adult. federal education law requires schools to support homeless students in a number of ways including keeping homeless students in the same school and providing transportation or

immediately enrolling them in new schools. however, education is only part of the answer. in order for homeless students to succeed in schools, they must receive housing and other supportive services that will stabilize their situations and enable them to concentrate on their education. unfortunately, school districts face barriers when they try to refer kids to the department of housing and urban development homeless programs because of the difference in the definitions of "homeless." this prevents kids from getting services they need and limits community collaboration, and perhaps equally disturbing, this mismatch in definition keeps the true scale of homelessness hiding from view. child nutrition and higher education act, both of these laws help homeless kids get services to the programs by taking advantage of point people in the public schools. similarly, h.r. 32 gets rid of the interagency barriers by allowing school districts andly liaisons and ores to -- others

to verify children and youth. these are absolutely critical that this availability be made acceptable within the laws of this country so that these children will not have these artificial barriers put up to stability in their residencies and stability in their educational attainment and stability in their family life so that they can continue to seek and to successfully complete their educational opportunities in this country. and i want to thank you again, madam chair, for holding this hearing and, again, thank you to the students who we're going to hear from. >> thank you very much. and now we'll introduce all of the panel members, and teen -- then we'll come back, and you'll each have five minutes, around that time, to your statement. and so we'll start with, first of all, over here we have brandon dunlap from chicago, illinois. next is rumi khan, sixth grade,

lambert middle school, carlisle, pennsylvania. thank you for being here. then britney amber kuhn, pfc at fort hood, texas. thank you for being here. and ms. brooke pastor, seventh grade, shirley, new york. thank you for being here also. destiny raynor, ninth grade at winter springs high school in sanford, florida. it's a little cold here, isn't it, compared to that? and then -- and i don't know if i'll say this first name right, sta any ca starnica? raynor. ninth grade, winter springs high school in sanford, florida. i'm sorry, ms. starnica rodgers, truman college, chicago, illinois. thank you for being here. with that, without objection,

your written statements will be made part of the record, and then you'll each be recognized for a five-minute summary of your testimony. we'll start with you, brandon dunlap. >> good morning. thank you for having me here today to testify in support of h.r. 32. i am from chicago, illinois, i graduated from kendall college and currently work in the food and beverage department of the union league club. i am proud of what i've accomplished so far, but it's been very difficult. a safe and secure place to live would have been, would have been very helpful to me in many ways. for most of my childhood, i did not have a stable place to live. my parents got separated when i was young. after they split my mom, sister and i ended up living with different relatives and friends. since then my mom got and lost a number of apartments, and when we were not together, i had to move from place to place. the summer before my junior here i received a phone call just

before work from my sister stating that the sheriff was there to put our things on the street. my mother was nowhere to be found. i went to work with tears in my eyes not knowing where i was going to go for the night. the tears wouldn't stop, so my manager offered me to go home. the tears came even stronger than possible because i had no home to go to. on that night i stayed with my cousin. however, he didn't allow me to have a key to come and go as i please, and there wasn't enough room for me or even a bed. i slept on the floor under the pool table. some nights i would travel a long distance on public transportation from school to work, often in bad weather, only to find that my cousin was not home, and i needed to find somewhere else to stay for the night. i scrambled to call different friends and family members and then get back to the bus to travel a long distance to another place to stay. i developed a rotation theory in which i would try to avoid

staying in the same place two nights in a row. i had to have a plan and then a back-up plan and then more plans just in case the back-up plan didn't work. .. a healthy place to do homework, goethe school, work, eat, and live my life. it would have been very

difficult to verify my living situation growing up, actual proof that an adult allowed mead, a homeless child, to live with them for only 14 days would possibly cause some adult to feel guilty or the thick given trouble. added alan anyone helping me to get tired of my presence. asking them for verification would be another very -- burden for them. for the same reasons i would not feel comfortable asking that take -- the state to said the move towards the 60 days. most people knew only what i've told of living situation and did not keep track of the number of days are moves. also, family members would have been reluctant to verify something that my show my parents for not caring for me. i also did not want to risk doing anything that might involve any authority because i did not want them going after my parents. if in order to access health and services i had to show that i will likely be homeless for a long time, that will be

difficult for me as i would always hope that i would be homeless for too long. i would also like to repeat something i said in the beginning of my statement. i am proud of what i've accomplished. when i was homeless it was like staring a ship and the storm and the ocean. above all of the situation has forced me to look to myself for success. however, i hope that other young people did not have to go through what i was through i hope that the situation of young people who are staying temporarily with friends and family is considered thomas' by all government agencies and given assistance with a stable place to live. thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my experience with the day. >> thank you so much we have ruby khan. you're recognized for five minutes. >> good morning, community. thank you for holding this hearing so that you can learn about homelessness from how we see it as kids. my name is ruby khan, and i'm 11

years old. i am in sixth grade. me and my mom are homeless. we got that way because my dad was abusing me and my mom. he hit me and call me stupid and retarded. he tried to choke my mom. we left our home in june last year and went to stay in a hotel for a couple nights. she tried to find a bed shelter for us to stand, but didn't have a room. her friend changed and they get really mean with me. sometimes she was vice. she never knew when she would swagger son. was the latest me up the stairs she was really mad me. when my mom said something to our above pushing me of the stairs to tell my mom to leave. another friend that my mom grew up with heard about our situation and invited us to stay with her. it turned out that he had mental

problems and was a big liar. my mom tried to get as into a shelter for families that have been abused, but we could not because of me. they don't allow older boys like me to stay there. had a time limit. the move does and to a hotel. there was really scary because judge dealers stood around outside, sometimes men would knock an outdoor and when my mom would open their would just look at us and my mom would try to in not say anything to make them mad and tell them they have the wrong door. i didn't want anyone to know where i was staying. when the school bus dropped us off i waited until no one will see me and then went to the hotel. his life's got mad and we get

kicked out. we went in state at a motel for one night. it is better not being around all the fighting, we could not afford to stay they're long them one night. we had to change states to find a place to stay. my mom friends invited us to stay with her until we could find a place. it was really hard having to start all over again. we had to leave there and stay in another hotel in another night. then we got into safe harbor. staying with the road to this was tough. really hard adjusting to families in different lifestyles. it was, if we crossed the line for some reason we're out. the hardest part was having to move comes as a watch and stay in so many different places call we lost everything. it affected my attitude because i lost all my friends over and over again. i was afraid to get close to

people because i knew we had to move again. i struggled as cool and came to school very exhausted because of having to sleep in different places constantly and not being addressed. she maybe go back to my dad. and mr. moloch, but i knew he had not gotten any help and i was too afraid that he heard his again. now we're in a place and i don't think movie kicked out at least not for just nothing. moving around and staying with so many different people was being really hard. i hope that now that we're at safe harbor we will be a will to stay for awhile and find a place to live. thank you for listening to what homelessness is like for me and my mom. >> thanks you so much. and we have britney.

you're recognized for five minutes. >> good morning. thank you, all members of the committee for this opportunity to share my story today. my name is britney and karen, born in the little house that had been in the family for years until it was foreclosed on in the middle of my seventh grade year. my mom, sisters, brothers and i doubled up with our neighbor. that was the beginning of a launch terry terry of instability that will lead me -- >> britney, could you pull the mike a little bit closer to you? >> that was the beginning of a long it, scary journey of instability in the lonely transition that would lead me to homelessness, but finally success as a proud member of the army. after aging and a foster care became homeless again. i had a scholarship to college, but i lived in my car and of accounts of relatives and friends for two months before college. housing solutions to not really exist. i made it through my first year of college, but as the year

ended i was again without housing. i crashed on the couch of a girl i met. after a couple of weeks i was by all the pressures command because she didn't have a car and i did i was expected to drive her and her kids wherever they did it go. i was not it will find other housing, so i felt stuck. this happens a lot when you're doubled up. you feel indebted to people for letting the state from within your take advantage of. they took my money into a man believed. assaulted me out of bars and nightclubs of would have somewhere to go at night. i know it sounds dangerous, but those making friends of ours because that would let me crash and the couches. and my car was in control and did not have to worry about what had to -- what would happen to me. i wondered why there was no help. as a cuckold i ask angela from the use of parma program to take me to a shelter. i decided to move in with my boyfriend.

then my relationship went back into kicked me out. i was so stressed ahead to quit school for the second time. that's when i talk to angeles has been the lead going into the military. i decided to go active duty so i would have supposed to look. and now stationed at fort hood, texas. even though i feel more still unsupported beheaded years plies the above applies to call home. and coming back for the holidays, but i'm still. i feel that it will only create problems and stress and more frustration with the system. none of the people i live with that have been willing to document that i was living there. it would have been suspicious and afraid of getting in trouble also, many of them i didn't know well enough task. i believe that allowing homeless education liaisons' and others to help you document your situation would be best because it would be easier for you to trust adults we know. most who are doubled up are

getting used. this is true of too many youth, in fact, to support me here today danielle in shannon because they have also been in my situation. very important for her to count doubled up yet because i don't think people realize how hard it is for them. if we were not counted we can never be served effectively, recognizing that there are limited resources. i would suggest increasing resources to those programs. everybody could be housed, but ignoring a says only reinforce the knowledge that a community has abandoned us and nobody cares about. like me you've chosen to serve your country. you here in washington and in the field, just as you have faith in me and i will be out there protecting that is my hope that you use your power to protect you like me. thank you again for the opportunity. >> they do so much. broken pastor.

>> twelve years old. i'm in seventh grade in new york. i'm here to there with my mom and also met benjamin from child program. i've lived in over 16 places, such shelters, four times to will up with many different people, and we had our own house . we had to go to the emergency motels. emergency room motel rooms many other times in between shelters and houses. i really hate moving from place to place. it's so hard because you get to know people and they have to move. it made my life hard. when we live with other people there were not nice to us. we couldn't ask them for anything. there were mostly men that we rivera and did not want anyone else to know, especially their landlord. there would never let us say

where we were. my mom couldn't tell anyone where we lived there for how long. it was like being invisible. the hardest thing about living with other people is watching my mom cried because the people would yo momma mom because we didn't have any money and they would yell and us to get out. it hurt me to see my mom hurting , and i couldn't do much to hopper. of always trying to help my and your sister and brother to decrease my mom so when she comes on -- when i come home. bonn has enough to do, so i try to play with them and keep them happy. so i do that a home. maybe not so much homework. add to not have time to socialize because i am looking to see if i can help mom. i follow her around to try to keep things going. my mom, lori and get your free and don't ask for anything until

it's paid. it's especially hard for my two year-old brother because he does not understand why mama's always current. he cries. he asks her not to cry. he wants mom's attention. she has to go out a lot to work into appointments. he has to sort different people. he has no day care or preschool because there is no money for that transportation and no openings in arrests. there are no services for his age, except the parents of home program that comes to us. we are in the house now, but things are not perfect. we had a hurricane on the roof in the kayten. my ceiling is still hanging. suffix to limit deals a month on . but no one to ever be homeless again. i think the only way we will never be homeless again is if my mom got a different job, our real job and officers of the. she works in a restaurant, and i

held that will happen soon. this year mall got her high school diploma and a driver's license, and she is going to school and a few weeks to the assistant. to the thing that held my mom go through all this is being close. the things that help is being close to my mom, being close to god. montez good things for people, even though we don't have enough money. i would like people to know that it is different going through this and just hearing about it. never experienced being homeless. your first time hearing about other watching a movie about a. a lot of kids going through it. thank you. prestigious some much. we have destiny rainer. you're recognized for five minutes.

>> hello. my name is destiny, and i'm a freshman at with this race has : florida. i'm here to there with my father and my sister, kimberly. i would also like to introduce you to the family. there were homeless in florida as well. my parents used to have a thrift shop and beauty store. we lost our housing when the economy get really bad and we had to close all our stores. but my parents did not have a job and they just kept looking for several months. the power and water guns shot off. we did not have electricity or water for six months. we had to see if the gas station at the corner because they have a microwave. the toe is mildly bad because we cannot flourish because the water was shut off. we had to bang buckets to a local church to fill with water for the trouble. my parents did not want to go to

a shelter because they split families up, and we wanted to be together. after we lost our homes we ended up moving in with my grandmother this was horrible. a three-bedroom mobile home, with only two rooms are usable. the mother, sister and i. my debt slipped on a small couch, my brother slept dollars a butcher. restated for to the three weeks until we could not take it anymore. my grandmother was also dying of cancer, so is really hard. without last the money we would in the hotel. the school district, scored mater move best -- met as after one week is and help us. my parents paid the bill. my dad is able to make money. we don't have the money that pays from her donations from a program. beth is here today, too. the hardest thing about living in a motel is being on the bus and watching all the other kids getting off, knowing that they're going to their own home and i'm going back to 01 room motel. it makes me feel really upset.

prior to a planning a trip to washington i only told one friend about the situation. i was afraid that people talk badly about it. we would be called poor and homeless. my teacher announced in class that we should all donate help the homeless kids because they're poor. she was talking about me. i know how bad it feels. it is just that in the minute you can be kicked out of the motel if you do something wrong repair stone have the money. you just can't go to your own room and have your privacy. i was terribly well. is in bees, but says this is happened three of my career strops the season ts. i am now working on baena back up. just as will program families in transition started helping it made it easier. now i feel that i can focus more on my school rather than the home situation. it's still hard for me and my family. everyone is too loud in one room, and my brother always gets a headache.

he gets so much more aggravated then he used to. my parents have no personal bonding time. they're always busy making sure we're taking care of and they have enough money to pay for the room. i seem a tad cried the last month more than i have in my entire life. when i see my father cry it hurts me because i know he's trying his best and is still isn't enough. it makes me feel scared, like we will never get out. last week he went the whole week without giving a job. the family in transition program from the school was the biggest release because they help us so much. they help the school bus some of parents would have to stress were giving us to school, this up for free breakfast and lunch programs and send us up for a backpack program so every thursday our backpacks are filled with food. i food stamps did not cover the whole month, and we would always run out the last two weeks. there are some programs that provide housing help, but we don't qualify because my dad doesn't have regular job and it doesn't make enough money.

when that pays for the motel room we are considered homeless. when my dad is for when not consider homeless. that doesn't make any sense to me. it's the same hotel room. it's had to live and when not. will we really need is a home of our own. since two nights ago that has not happened. because of the 60 minutes' segment our community came together and provided by family with the home. i know that my family's basic needs will be met and i can concentrate on what is really important, my education. my prayer for today is that not only has our community stepped up for us, but now for our government to stand up for us as well and help all the other hope -- homeless children so that they can get a home. thank you for the activity to be here today. >> thank you so much for your testimony. we have been joined by another member from illinois.

danny davidson. without objection. so ordered. now we have tony roberts. >> good morning. i am 18 years old. i have lived in chicago my whole life. thank you for the opportunity to testify here today. it is a true honor. currently i am rested and a german college. i just finished my first semester and received one day into these. i am also eight months college and expecting a baby boy next month. don't worry, i checked with my doctor and said its eighth to fly. right now i am staying at a shelter for parents of jakarta's are side. it is run by the night ministry. when i first got here i was very nervous.

was worried about being in a new environment. now i realize that everyone is here for the same reason. we are all homeless and alone. since i have been here i have found support from other girls and stuff. they helped me with my homework and found close for minority school. there help me find a more permanent place to live. i have been homeless on and off my whole life. my mom was a single mother with four kids in this sort of minimum wage jobs are alive. i remember watching my mother struggle to pay the rent and thus having to go to a shelter when i was five. i want my life to be better. as i grew out of mom and i started getting into a lot of fights. she was verbally abusive to me, and sometimes physically abusive . by the time i was 16 and had to leave for my own safety. there are was, 16 homes.

i went from house to house state for two or three days and other family members houses not knowing where was going to end up. throughout the struggle of less dedicated to graduating high-school the matter what. i was with the mckinneys so that i could get free transportation to get to school. of graduated this year, and i'm very proud of that accomplishment. and now in college, the johnson, and i was elected to students in the. i have graduated -- i will graduate college the matter how hard the obstacles may be. with a college degree i know that i will be able to get a good paying job with a guaranteed salary. my dream is to be a social worker to help people that are going to the same struggles i faced. right now i am working to a transitional program.

the program receives federal of funding. there is not enough housing programs in chicago for people like me. before i get into a program i had to call over 25 different programs, but there were all cutaway list. i had to struggle my whole life to find a place to call home. i hope to understand how important it is today and person . without these programs another would be allowed to attend college. i would be too busy worrying about where i was calling to stay every night. thank you for listening to my story, and thank-you for the supporting programs that are helping me. i hope it you would think about the 10,000 you to chicago who are homeless or the teens who don't know where they're going to sleep tonight. our country should give more money to programs that help homeless youth so we can be a

will to break the cycle of homelessness and become successful adults. thank you. >> thanks you so much. thank you all for your compelling testimony. i don't know. this must be your first time testimony, but you have a career . that was very good. mieno going to have questions from the members of congress. we will each take five minutes to ask questions. i yield myself five best start. brandon, if i might tell you brandon, you said you were concerned about the high documentation requirements, and i think you said that in order for you to be successful to access housing services you had to show that you would be homeless for a long time.

that's kind of -- brokerage. >> sixty days, if i'm mistaken, or 14 days, from one the one place. and that would be really inconvenient to put on a personal staying with. that didn't want to overstate my welcome. i was already has a huge favor command to ask for documentation, i think would be -- i didn't want to jeopardize my situation. >> well, it seems that certainly did not want to be homeless for a long time, so that defeats the purpose. beyonce said that in school, schools the police recognized provide the services. >> yes. >> at think that it's been mentioned a couple of times. we're trying to -- we have already worked with the schools on the definition there. we're really trying to us move this into the health and human

services to provide such help. those schools seem to have the ability to help homeless. >> the teachers would be able to recognize certain problems. no representative from hud in my situation, and i would tell them a fast because i didn't know this person. at school on familiar with the teachers. the teacher asked and should genuine concern to my would share information. >> thank you. and then you testified and found safe harbor. did you tell us a little bit more about safe harbor and how you get into that and what it means you? >> well, came in and ask for a place to stay and first ran the

merseyside for a little while. >> who is they? >> safe harbor. >> safe harbor give us a place to stay which is on the emergency side. they stay there for awhile and then they got to move a sub to the transitional side. it's like a little department. we have our own state to the aerospace and our own room. this is very safe. sometimes i don't feel almost as have our roof over my head. me and my mother are together in that room, and we have neighbors and friends. >> how did you find safe harbor? >> was recommended to you? >> yes. >> that was fortunate. >> yes. >> thank you.

and brooklyn, you said that your mother know is going to school, got of the pomo and a driver's license and is going to train to be a nurse assistant. who helped to, your mother during the hardest times? added she figured out how to do that as well? >> this frenchman helped us. >> ms. benjamin helped us. >> what kind of help do you wish her mother had when you were moving between places? >> i don't know. i guess i just wish because she was always there for everyone else to maven and we didn't have it. i wish they would do the same for her when we needed help, but that didn't.

@booktv have some bad experiences, but it seems like you're wearing the uniform and everything. things have really straightened out for you. >> his comment. >> in your statement you said that ignoring us, youth, has only reinforced our knowledge of our community has abandoned us and nobody cares about us. do you still -- as you have move done you -- do you still feel the way? >> honestly, yes, i do. >> occurred. my time is expired. they're recognized. >> thank you, madam chair. i really have reservations about asking him a lot of questions or if the matter. in my state of missouri we have approximately 24,000 homeless

children, which means there is a certain level of visibility. some of the kind of mentioned it. i am wondering, as you have struggled have you met other in people who were in my sense situation. if so, was there any attempt to measure each other's situation to see if there's a place or way to get help? any of you need others in your sense situation? which your promotes the whole issue that this problem more severe, the invisibility, there would not want anybody to know.

>> i'm actually in a program now with several other girls in my situation. we all connected. okay. how did you get here? did you call of the resources that may be turned you down? where on the same situation. well, we are either pregnant or have a child. the programs that there weren't, so we ask, could we get into those programs? this is for all the the best way for us to go. >> a young man kept him and actually went to school with their kids to my tomboys. he was later killed in a crash in the everglades. but the one thing that we discovered was that he had never

been to a dentist. he had never been to a doctor. for obvious reasons. at don't need the details, but i am wondering how much health care you have? getting checkups, anybody? >> as a child i was well taken care of. i know recall going to a doctor. >> i go to the doctor the dentist. >> i did not have a lot of health care, but i had to make

go through a lot of work that the dentist in order to get into the army. >> thank you very much. >> thank you. the gym and from ohio. you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you so much, madam chairman. i think many of you mentioned, brandon and britney and destiny all talk a little bit about or maybe it was broken about grades and how their housing situation really impacted your schooling and your ability to continue your education. can you just help me understand, this these are linked and it then can change the course of your life and a negative way it is you don't get the education your pursuing or you don't give as good education. take you want to expand upon this sort of impact and the

connection between your experience when you're homeless and happen to jump between home and home and what it meant to your school work in your ability to ready yourself for your future. >> it was very difficult to study given the fact that i, the long distance travel and maybe even again, take the initial. it was not. no real time for homework. there was a lot of planning. abcaeight. it's late. i have to go to sleep because class starts today. >> it's hard for me. stressing untiring and staying up late. it was affecting my schoolwork because i could not focus is cool.

migrates to gun down a little bit, but i'm kind of trying to go to sleep earlier and bring my grades of. so i can give phase. >> it affects you there when you're sitting class your word about or your record to go after, we're going to eat tonight going to do your homework done. half the time you don't have access to more you break a pencil. you might not have a pencil sharpener to completed command to or read online. what's going to happen to me? to i have the gas to get back to school tomorrow? should asleep in the school parking lot and a pickup spam my door again? always worried about something. >> in high-school it was harder than college. the people that i grew up with, and it was hard to let them know that i was homeless or that i needed help. but in college i got more help at the shelter that i'm living

in, like i got more help of my answers. and as collided english, so i have to do a lot of papers. did have a lot of equipment that needed to do the papers. after-school programs that i'm involved in, that and help it. going into college i had done a lot more support. when i was homeless my grades were maybe decencies. i was barely passing. in high school i get is in these. >> and the thing many of you talked about the height requirement on documentations. i think jerome ask that question before, but obviously that came up in multiple testimonies from you. i think that something we need to take up pretty serious look at because obviously, you know, i think brenda did a good explaining of that tree the hassle on the people trying to

help you. i know that something else, a specific issues that we should take a serious look at? the chairman expressed a lot of things to help homeless youth. does anybody have any of the things the flight that? >> when you live in a motel, if you can pay for it at least for 14 days in that categorize thomas. but still meyer home. like an mentioned, you could be kicked out of. we have a lot of help from bath. when someone else paid for it for you you were homeless. if you can pay for it for 14 days in not, but it's the same room it away. it's not your home. you don't have your own privacy. you crammed in one little room. that makes no sense because it the same place.

>> i appreciate your time. it looks like my time has expired. i appreciate you sharing your stories and experience with us. rick going to work hard to do the best we can to help. thank you so much, and i yield back. >> thank you. this waters, you have any questions? >> thank you very much. >> you been recognized. >> i'd like to out first thank all of our young panelists who are here today for coming to share your story so that we could be better informed and know how best to use our public policy to know how we're doing about homelessness. i would like to share with you the recently i decided to walk to the system in los angeles.

what i saw this service be greatly. had nothing to the systems are working the way we think they are from appear, and for the last three or four weeks have been trying to get a family, a mother with three children a place in transition to permanent housing, and i have not been able to do it. add on to the big agency, and i confront them about how the systems are now working. i think that the members of this committee a bigger under. we should all not just visit shelters and sit down and talk with people who are supposed to be implementing what we think is public policy, we have to walk through the system with people who require shelters and our

transitional housing, a permanent housing. i discovered that this mother with three children was being asked for all kinds of documentation before she could get into the shelter. some of the documentation that there were asking for. let me just say to you that priority on my list of how i spend my time will be to try and correct some of these problems and other things are discovered. the one shelter, they had to be about 4:00. this person and stay out until five, so i had to put them in my car and taken back and tell them despite the fact that he had missed by one hour. it goes on and on and on. i know what you're going through. one question i may follow upon,

and that is i am very concerned about what you're trying to get in to permit housing, your family, what is happening with your education in school? because long distances, are homeless -- and people on long distance from the school. would it help of some how weak it put something in the system that would require tutoring and every shelter where they're children? what kind of assistance could help lawyer families are working on getting permits housing? do you have any suggestions, we could do to help, how we could give support so you don't fall behind and get bad grades simply because you can't sleep a night, because you're in a situation where you don't feel safe or there's noise. would tutoring help?

someone on the side or places where you have numbers again people? would it help to try and get some assistance from the school district to have teachers or a teacher on site? with any of that help? >> i definitely filtering would help a lot. i also feel that someone trained to do -- deal with children and high stress situations would also. >> i think transportation to school would help a lot because i ride my bike to school, and it's very tiring. i get to school exhausted, and my legs hurt. >> how many schools have you gone to? stories about young people who may have went to three, four, five schools in the year. you heard that? >> yes. i actually tried to say at this in school, which should never done because i missed too many days going from house to house.

i was born from the south side to my school on the west side. i should have transferred schools, but i knew that i was going to be on the south side for a long. either way it was hard. >> so if you had a teacher or a tear the allies in the area of the shelter who could keep you on track until you get a permanent place so you would lose time or lose. will that help? >> oh well plot. it would help if i had. the class is not mandatory. those of a class is i need help with the most. >> if there was a teacher who was helping you and it could help you transfer your work to your permanent school once you got a permanent placement and be an advocate and a support person that would be helpful.

>> yes. >> think you. let me say, you know the first thing we do work on in this whole issue was the education and to make sure. this was put into the top left behind, and it was to make sure that no homeless child was turned away from school. we did have to have the records. you didn't have to have your grades and whatever, but you could be enrolled immediately. in school where you were homeless living at the time or where you have been in school. i know that it took several years, and this was under mr. miller's committee. >> the gentle lady yield. >> it just was that -- >> go ahead. >> i just wanted to add to that, that is absolutely very helpful, but the real problem i am running into is the number of schools that the young people in

up going to while they're homeless. they lose credits. >> you're absolutely right, but we did at transportation. i think that took us a long time to get that end. a think you're absolutely right that we should really look at maybe the tutor, the teacher to man the shelters. that would be a big joke. it is something we should look effervesce. >> makes you very much. >> you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much. madame chair, i also would like to thank the ranking member, mr. gutierrez for his efforts in these areas as well. i am very concerned about your

indications that you were homeless but he did not want anyone to know the you're homeless. i understand why. you have all spoken quite well, and let me compliment you. it took a lot of courage to do it as well as you have, and i think you for the courage they have exhibited today. but you all said that you didn't want people to know. was there on any of the school campuses a counselor or someone who had some degree of responsibility to work with you and help him from the campus, from the school campus? did anyone have a counselor or anyone on the campus the you were able to work with? >> there were councilors on

staff at school, but i didn't speak to them until i had a connection from someone who did no work at the school. >> until you had -- did you say a connection? >> yes. >> she helped me get scholarships and introduced me to the coalition for the homeless. from that point on, that's when i talked to the council, mr. murphy, at my high school. he didn't help any. >> was there any doubt reached? did you feel that you were in an environment wherein you could go to someone at the school and said we need help? we have the situation to any of you feel that there were many avenues, any means available for you to do this? >> i personally didn't reach out because i didn't want any authorities going out for my

parents. >> yes, ma'am. >> i didn't have on school help, but we had a coordinator named beth who is actually here today. she is helping with a few hundred families, helping them with food, places to stay, making sure they keep up with their education. if it wasn't for her are would still be staying in a motel, and migrate would still be horrible. at my school we don't have any one on campus rally that helps. mostly -- there are a lot of kids there. we had a program that everyone got to come and have a free lunch and stuff. we had hundreds and hundreds of kids there they came because there were homeless. there is nothing -- no one of the school there's no point in telling people is no incentive fund of as much to happen.

>> i actually did not feel comfortable telling everybody that would -- that was homeless. i knew there are going to look to be different. i was afraid it would get out and that i was going to have to transfer because the people were looking down on me. i did talk to this lady, one lady came up to the school if you got me into a program that gave me a bus card so i could get to school. they noticed me that i was homeless because of my attendance and coming in late. i was doing all the work in getting good grades, but my attendance was affecting my grades. they actually came to me. >> it's not always about the you don't want to share. i'm very open. it's just the society but the label on you. i was talking to people in my unit. that let them know and telephony.

they say you can't get into the army if you're that way or you can't stick of wiry going to the suspense of college. you're living in a car. that's not possible. >> yes sir. >> i haven't gone to my friends because i am embarrassed and i'm afraid they're going to make fun of me because they have everything and i'm homeless and it's kind of embarrassing for me i don't go to the counselor at my school, but when me and my mom went to a counselor and she was supposed to come to the school every other weaker something. she is never come. i can share with anybody but my mom. >> thanks you very much. madame chair, i think i will close with this. we'll have a duty to do all the weekend, even if it's not enough

we have a duty to do all the began. from my perch i am convinced that we are not doing enough. there is more that we can do that we are not doing. where we have addressed the young people who have spoken, i do want to thank the adults who came today who are with them, whether you are a mother, father, brother, a significant other, whatever, i just want to thank you for the role that you are playing in helping us to give these young people a brighter future. with this was yield back the balance of my time. thank you. >> thank-you. let me just say that we are very happy the you have told us, and have not been afraid to come to the u.s. congress because things are going to change. we are working on this bill. you're giving us more to put

into it, so we appreciate that. mr. miller, you're recognized for five minutes. >> thank you very much, madame chair. recently begin by thanking you so much for coming and sharing your stories with us as members of congress. the legislation is under consideration this morning is designed to address many of the things you have mentioned in some parts of the federal law that already do that and other parts are inconsistent with that, and we are trying to remove those barriers. the of the easier for you and your parents and the counselors to access the services. so that is our goal, to address exactly what you told us in person here today. i think it's very important that we hear from you. all of you exhibit there remarkably to five remarkable

strength and maturity. i recognize that adverse situations make you grow very fast. responding to help other people in your family the exhibition of strength and character. sometimes we don't always see. i want to commend you from your own achievement in school. the difficult as it's been, ups and downs. you should really feel very good about yourselves and certainly we feel very good about your role is to come here and to publicly demonstrate to us the need for this legislation so that it would be easier for you

and your family another homeless children. and the other side we put many provisions into law to try to deduce the barriers and the obstacles. transportation and counselors the required. again, they find there are barriers and we're trying to reduce those. hopefully your testimony will turn up in the very valuable and helpful to us you look back and remember this, when you made this kind of contribution on behalf of others . so i help you take that away from this very. thank you again so very much and obviously are very best wishes. your circumstances will change -- change for the better for all of you. >> the gentleman yields back. >> i yield back.

>> the dublin from illinois, mr. davis. you're recognized for five minutes. >> sent you very much, madam chairman. let me thank you not only for calling this hearing, but certainly giving me the opportunity to just participate, though not a member of this particular committee. i also want to commend you. we get an opportunity to ride back and forth together on the airplane. sometimes we even get seated in the same row. and i want to commend you for your passion and your sensitivity to this issue. i know of a firsthand because we do get a chance to talk, and i am aware of how high you told us as a priority in the work did you have done it over the years. i think you very much for that. i also want to commend

representative miller for the he has provided as chairman and now ranking member of the education committee, trying to make sure that we merge together the housing and social service needs with the educational needs of students who are homeless. i want to commend all of the witnesses. i have been totally intrigued by your testimony and appreciate your level of understanding and recognition of what our country not only is the where we need to go. particularly to want to welcome brandon, as is from chicago, where i come from. and that think the night ministry, which i am very familiar with, is one of the

most innovative and creative programs i've ever heard about, read about, participated with, observed what it does. not only with homeless youth, but with other homeless individuals. we are fortunate the coalition for the homeless has been one of the most effective advocacy groups for homeless persons in this country, at least the last 20 years. and so i would commend them. brandon, i did get a chance to hear your testimony unfortunately. are you associated with a program? what program are you connected with? >> i am here with the coalition for the homeless. >> you are connected with the coalition for the homeless? i'm sure you can verify what i said about them because not only

to then pinpoint the need for services, but there are so it operational in terms of their approaches to doing this. where do you get your health care? >> everything was connected with the night ministry. they recommended me over. >> is it a clinic? >> it's a clinic. >> school based clinic? >> no. >> is not a school based clinic, but it is -- is it the community health center clinic? >> its a team. it's a teen clinic. >> if the team help when it? which i think also do fantastic work. so i am just delighted the you all came to share with us. chicago is somewhat fortunate. i mean, truman college, where you attend, which is a part of

the city college system does, in fact, have a level of sensitivity to all kinds of students. it is also a college that is a united nations of students, and so they pay particular attention to the needs of young people, the needs of their students, and they are located in an area where i think individuals from every race, creed, nationality, color, everybody lives in uptown and the area where it is located. i think that also helps. chicago -- the chicago board of education, happen to be very much aware of what they do because the woman who directed the homeless program for several years happen to have been my sisters classmate.

i became very familiar with them. the one question that i wanted to ask, did any of you know other homeless and people? not been able to connect the program? you know young people who are not connected to a program? >> yes. >> to you know young people -- a few. that kind of projection indicates that we not only need the legislation, but we also need to make sure that there is adequate funding for the program better authorized. again, i think you all for coming and for europe dissipation, and i think you, madam chairman, for your diligence and for the opportunity to be here, and i yield back. ..

i want to come back to that. if you could explain a little bit more, and i know that this has been true that i've heard this before that they don't want to take an older boys, but what happened, and did this happen in other places, too? >> it has happened in st harbor they don't accept, like older

males or single males. i guess it's because they don't want to start relationships in the shelter. that is my best guess. and yes, that's happened to me and i'm not sure why it's happened. so, yeah -- >> that's something we will have to look into. thank you. >> the ones most of the shoulders down in florida is the separate the males and females not depending upon the age and we all wanted to stay together because it would separate younger brother and my dad. they would go to a separate shelter and a would-be me and my sister and my mom and we didn't want that to happen. >> what would happen to a family that has the father and two daughters that are young? >> they would be separated. the children would go to a different shelter, and i guess

the leaders of the shelter would take care of them. >> thank you. we will look into this. thank you. do you have anything just -- okay. thank you. thank you. i will be brief. i just want to say to brandon and the brooklyn and brandy how proud we are of you and with a great job you did on your testimony. we are proud of your accomplishments, your college graduation, joining the military, but we are also proud of your perseverance and your passion on the subject. i want to share just a really quick story so you understand that while homelessness affects a lot of people, it certainly does not have to get in your way. we have a colleague, a good friend of mine from detroit michigan who was homeless, and after his homelessness he went on to college and then became a state representative, you have a

lot to offer our society to come and we as a society and institution here in congress need to do a better job of trying to help get folks the resources they need and that's why i think the chairwoman's bill is about and i'm looking forward to supporting that and appreciate your testimony today and we are going to get and try to address the situation as you brought up but i just want to make sure you know how proud of you we all are. thank you, madame chair. >> thank you. mr. greene. estimate just a comment, madame chair. i think these young people have given us an opportunity today to understand this is not just a problem for democrats or republicans or conservatives or liberals. this is an american problem and

it deserves an american solution. i look forward to working with you to reach that solution. thank you, madame chair. >> mr. miller, did you -- thank you. mr. davis? >> the only thing i would say, i remember my mother telling me when i was a young person that problems like these, the more humorous than the more they grow, and that is not always what your problem does to you but it's a matter of what you do with what could have been your problem. i think you are all well and the way to not having problems but having solutions. thank you very much. >> thank you. with that, we will excuse this panel and there are seats available for you to listen to the other panel, and with that what we say the chair recognizes

that some members may have additional questions which they may wish to submit in writing. without objection the hearing record will remain open for 30 days for members to submit written questions to the witnesses. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations] >> i know it's going to be hard to top that panel, but think you all for being here and i will

now introduce the second panel. >> first we have ms. alisa the director of financial markets and community investment u.s. government accountability office. mr. seth diamond commissioner new york city department of homeless services. ms. maria and stila garcia liaison for the san antonio independent school district. mr. mark johnson, deputy assistant secretary for special needs office of community

planning and development, u.s. department of housing and urban development currently known as hud. ms. barber upon the executive director of usn interagency council on homelessness. dr. grace whitney, director of connecticut headstart state collaboration office connecticut state department of education. thank you for being here, and you will be recognized for five minutes. and we will start with ms. ms. cackley. >> chairman biggert and members of the subcommittee, good morning or may be good afternoon almost. i am pleased to be here to participate in today's hearing on homeless children and youth. the census bureau indicates 22% of all children in the u.s. lived in poverty in 2010 and the department of education identified nearly 940,000 homeless students during the 2000 line-2010 school year, and 18% increase since the 2007-2008

school year. local federal agencies administer programs designed to address the needs of children and youth experiencing homelessness but some programs use different definitions to determine eligibility. these definitions range from people living in emergency or transitional shelters or on the street to living with other because of economic hardship or living in motels or campground's because they lack other adequate accommodations. my statement today is based on the gao june 2010 report on differences in the federal definitions of homelessness and other factors that impact the effectiveness of programs serving persons experiencing homelessness. in a report, we found the definitional references huffpost challenges to providing services for persons experiencing homelessness including children and youth. in particular, children and youths living in certain precarious situations such as double up with others were living in motels historic we were excluded from receiving government funded housing

services. we certainly heard about that this morning. we also found that data collected on the homeless have a number of shortcomings and consequently do not fully capture the true extent and nature of homelessness. further, homeless and you very by agency partly because the various federal programs have youth believed used different definitions. congress enacted the homeless emergency assistance in rapid transition to housing act of 2009 which brought in the general definition of homelessness and provide greater statutory specificity concerning those who should be considered homeless. last month hud issued a new rule on the definition of homelessness adding a new category on the company to it families with children and youth to find as homeless under other federal statutes. the recent definitional changes may easily create some challenges previously spaced by children and youth and our existing services. in particular, some children and youth who previously were not considered homeless by hud will

now qualify as homeless. however, not enough time has passed for us to assess the impact of these changes and the broadening of the definition does not mean that everyone who meets the new definition will be entitled to benefit in all home assistance programs. countries all the resources will likely continue to restrict access to housing services for many children and youth. another finding of a 2012 report was the different definition of homelessness make effective collaboration across federal programs are difficult. based on our work, we recommend that federal agencies develop a common vocabulary for homelessness. the agencies agreed with our recommendations and have taken some steps towards implementing them. for example, in january of this year, the interagency council convened the meeting of experts to discuss the development of a common vocabulary and issued a report to congress in june that summarized the feedback received in that meeting. the report notes that a common vocabulary would allow federal and agencies to better measure

the scope and dimensions of homelessness and the east program implementation and coordination. recently interagency council staff told us that they helped defeat to hold three meetings to discuss implementation of the common to be lardy and data standards with key federal agencies. the interagency council also noted that individuals that are federal agencies have taken some positive steps to create this, indeed a standard and improve the coordination across agencies. for simple, hhs and the va has been working with hud to plan a potential transition and some of their data collection and reporting to hud's homelessness management information system. to sum up, we believe that a common vocabulary in the data standards mean by all the federal agencies to provide service for the homeless is an important step towards the goal of providing efficient and expected programs to end homelessness. would allow for the collection of consistent data the agencies can use to better understand the nature of homelessness and allow more communication and collaboration across all

federal, state and local programs that serve the homeless. chairman bigger, this concludes my prepared statement and i would be happy to conclude to the clincher questions. >> mr. dimond, you are recognized for 5 cents. >> good morning chairman and members of the committee and pleased to be with you today to discuss your city's ongoing efforts to prevent family homelessness and to work with those who are homeless to return to the community as quickly as possible. new york city approach mirrors president obama's federal strategic plan to prevent and end homelessness. it emphasized preventing homelessness and increasing economic security through employment, improving access to the mainstream programs and improving the health and stability of all vulnerable populations. as we heard so powerfully this morning shoulder can be difficult for children many of whom have to leave their school and community they know when coming into the system. there are 16,500 children in

this shelter system, and we work closely with all of our families to ensure we can bring as much stability as is possible into the lives of children living in shelters. the most important service we can provide for children is to make sure they are enrolled in school and are attending each day. we recognize teachers and education department officials are critical in those efforts. we try to place families in shelters as close as possible to the school where the youngest child is enrolled and with the city's department of education is located at our family and take center to assist families and enroll children in the new school if that turns out to be necessary. wants families are placed in shelters, education staff, to collaborate with shelter base staff to ensure julca and have transportation to reach school. they also begun to provide a tendency that shelters so they can track how children are attending schools and work with families where attendance is an issue. we also established home

workrooms as a quiet place for students to work and receive tutoring from the many not-for-profit organizations that are partnered with us. it is far better for the families want to be in shelters at all. to help those already in the shoulder we have work to increase our employment efforts and this year alone 7,500 shoulder households have moved into jobs providing not only income of greater stability. for those at risk of homelessness, new york city prevent homelessness primarily through a network of 13 provincial offices called home base located throughout the city. these offices use a range of services in their efforts to fight homelessness. among the services is the close coordination with local schools. home base has regular presentations to parent and teacher groups and school officials so that they become aware that a family is dealing with housing issues that can be referred for services. the service mix that home base offers is different in each case

but our offices are operated under the two important principles. first, those who ask for assistance must take concrete and verifiable steps to improve the situation and assistance is contingent on than taking those steps. individuals working with a case worker must design a plan to address the circumstances that put them at risk of homelessness and that put that plan into action. the plan might include for example an aggressive job search. looking for a new apartment or attending a financial counseling second is called for in the open door report home base is in evidence discovered where we continuously and rigorously reviewed our work to ensure it is efficient and cost-effective. especially at a time of limited resources it is critical that our services be based on solid and reliable data. home base meets that test and its programs are continually evaluated to both ensure that we are targeting those most in need of services and that wherever possible we are providing the

services that are not only beneficial to the family, but will prevent those households from meeting shelter. to further ensure the home-based prevention services are effective, we have undertaken a series of independent evaluations of the program. these reviews conducted by the leading researchers from the universities across the country as well as a random assignment study undertaken by these incidents, one of the nation's leading social scientist research firms looks at a series of the most critical questions involving the prevention efforts. the research is underway, and we look for to sharing the results as those findings become available. prevention efforts have become a greater part of the national discussion of homelessness and we are gratified and emergency solutions brand support prevention work. we think this change will be critical and encouraging the community across the country to direct more resources towards prevention and believe that those programs were established and operated under the high standards we have used that can

be effective and believe it would be a good investment tax payers' dollars to expand the sg funding to allow additional prevention resources to be put in place. hud resources are not really dedicated to the however should be focused on those with the greatest needs. with financing already stretched then, the further dilute those elections would hurt the efforts being made in new york and across the country to assist those in shelter. dedicated resources are a central to provide the essential for with needing housing and plymouth or rehabilitative case management services. one of those living with others may be in need of services, those needs can be addressed through other funding streams such as es g. existing allocations such as the tennis program also provides an opportunity to assist those at risk of homelessness. i think you for the opportunity to testify and look forward to answering your questions. >> thank you.

ms. garza your recognized for five minutes. >> thank you. good morning representative gutierez and members of the committee - a stila garza for the past ten years i've been a liaison at the school district in san antonio texas. last year we enrolled 3,171 homeless students in san antonio that is 56% increase over the year before and we are on track for another increase this year. about 80% of the homeless students who we serve lived in double up situations come stay with the people because they have no other place to go. we can debate homeless verses at homeless but in reality they are all the same. families and you can't find spaces in the shelters for the shelters don't have the space to serve families or unaccompanied minors, so they are all -- what is left is for them to be doubled up. and the balance from one situation to another and in san antonio there isn't a double the

population in total population and a shelter population. it's all one group. a homeless population. however, they are here and they will be here. if they are not counted in our view of homelessness it will be extremely scute, and when we talk about ending homelessness and fight for ten years, we must realize that we cannot do that without addressing the needs of our troubled children and youth. because if we continue to experience, if they continue to experience the instability of doubling up is the norm, then they will become the chronic homeless adults of tomorrow. as we heard from our youth has testified earlier, doubled children live in extremely overcrowded stressful conditions that affect every aspect of their development. we work hard to serve our families and eustis by their constant mobility but since the have no way to access stable housing school districts are losing children. example, i insisted to the ghost of a mother that had been

doubled in five different homes in a two month ago. she didn't know where to enroll her son. that same day he was enrolled. but i couldn't to access the hud services. she wasn't homeless according to hud. another family comes to mind as a veteran with a high school son. they were living in a motel and a terrible neighborhood in one room with facilities will be done in my career for a refrigerator. i remember her exact words. this life is for the birds, not humans get housing services, mom paid the hotel. the are not homeless according to hud. i hope the changes in the definition of the act would allow san antonio to provide housing and support services to the children and youth i served, however after reading the regulations of particularly the documentation requirements i realized the new definition would make a difference for the vast majority of my family and youth. for simple, it will be impossible for a double the family to provide verification of the host families about how

well they can stay, how many times they've moved or whether they are actually staying there at all. host families don't want any agency that they have two families in their apartment when their lease and occupancy indicates one family to the lives and families evicted from the substance housing for going over the occupancy limit by housing and troubled families. now we have to homeless families, not one. so it is understandable that even a case manager calling a host family will be threatening and likely to result in the host family asking the doubled the family to leave immediately if hud's goal is to create a high degree of anxiety come animosity among family members in my community, this documentation requirement is an excellent way of doing that. they will destroy families, support networks country get more mobility for my kids, more stress and even greater challenges. hud is trying to keep their own definition of homelessness and

eliminate my doubled up families from requiring too much, by requiring too much documentation. understand the categories the families and the youth and that risk. the service is that my family's and used need the most or housing and support services which are not available for at risk families. plus the average population again won't be counted which again creates a false picture of homelessness in my community. h.r. 32 the homeless children and youth act would be more efficient than the peter chosin dewitt held our crc to identify the, needs and goals with one mind set. i'm used to certify and homelessness for other federal programs such as the usda free meal at school, the hhs head starts and the college financially from a company homeless youth. i will be glad to accept responsibility of certifying children and youth who are in homeless situations in the u.s. department definition so that we

can serve them and prevent them from becoming tomorrow's homeless adults. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. mr. johnston, you are recognized for five minutes. >> thank you for the opportunity to testify today on this very important issue. i would also think you for having these witnesses on the first panel and there's certainly evidence that all of us need to do more. to help so many in this nation who have no place to call home. families with children make to larger share of the homeless population. making it nearly 40% of all people living in our streets and shelters. sadly 15 homeless families are living in cars and other and sheltered places. this week they released the national point in time count for homeless persons. hud partners with communities each january to count the number of persons to the point in time who were either on sheltered, that is living outside, or are

in homeless shelters. these counts do not increase persons at risk of having no housing such as persons living with their family or friends for which there are many especially in these very difficult economic times. the number of persons living in shelters or in shelters declined by just over 2% between 2010 and 2011. importantly, this overall decline reflects reductions in all subgroups. individuals, chronically homeless, veterans and families with children. the reduction in homelessness among families was 2.4% from 2010 and 5% since 2007. while we as a nation have a long way to go, given the high record poverty rates and unemployment rates, it is heartening that we are seeing at least some progress again in reducing homelessness. these reductions are a testament to both nationwide homeless prevention efforts as well as continued funding of proven

programs authorized by this subcommittee that provides support of housing to homeless families and individuals. this act provides communities for the first time a full range of tools to prevent and end homelessness. in particular, the programs to serve persons were defined as the risk of homelessness and expand the definition of who is considered homeless. hud began to train this week on tuesday on the definition of homelessness with our over 8,000 local guarantee partners. it's important to note that as the guarantees began to use the new or expanded definition of homelessness and the definition of what restlessness we continue to receive essential flat funding year after year. we are obviously in a time of great fiscal constraint and will be very challenging to serve more people without additional resources. related to the definition i would like to acknowledge the good work of the giglio in assessing the needs for a common

vocabulary when it comes to the issue of homelessness. i am enthusiastically supporting the finding that there should be a common vocabulary. the hard fact was the result of many years of hard work. from those on this committee and in the congress in general, the efficacy communities homelessness service providers and hud i was personally involved in these efforts from the beginning and was very heartened to see congress pass this bipartisan bill. in addition to broadening the definition of homelessness, the act also consolidates three programs into one country it's the emergency solutions grant program and the rural housing stability program. so now for the first time hud's thomas assistance programs will have the full range of tools that communities need to confront homelessness for families and children come from prevention to those who are not risk of losing their housing to emergency shelter, transitional housing, rapid rehousing, and

permanent housing. to implement the act amendment, hud has defaulted is issuing six sets of regulations that details of which are in my written testimony. finally, we realize that solving homelessness would require more resources than are available through harth. we are available in several initiatives to reduce it in homelessness for families with children and for youth the attempt to bring more resources to the table and find the best strategies to deal with this problem. in conclusion i want to thank you for the opportunity to testify today and i look forward to answering any questions you might have. >> thank you, mr. johnston. his speech, you are recognized for five minutes. >> good morning. representative green and members of the subcommittee thinking for the opportunity to testify on the impact of homelessness on children and youth. i want to thank chairman bigger for her leadership on the passage of the harth act. today we are here to discuss the requirements on that act, the change in the homeless

definition, the jeter study on the federal definition and the plan. i'm pleased to report that we have made progress on all free. hud's definition reflects the agreement was reached in the act and we have followed up on the giglio study to enhance the civil war, a common vocabulary and as you know we have the first ever federal strategic plan to present and end homelessness. it is horrifying in the nation as wealthy as ours that nearly 1 million children and youth experience homelessness. the testimony we have just heard underscores the strategy. in deputy assistant mark johnson has noted the latest data shows that nearly 240,000 family members were homeless on a single night in january of 2011. while the 2011. in time count is less for the 2010 count, other trends are not so positive. there are significant mismatches between the in common housing, more families are experiencing for closure, the shrinking of affordable housing stock,

falling household income and increased competition from higher income renters have really widened the gap between the number of low-income renters and the number of affordable units. the needs of the family youth and children very and often require not only housing employment, but also attention to education, health care and other needs. these operate out at different silo's the local level. often managed by different jurisdictions. instead of a tailored and holistic response, families and you confront a highly fragmented, uncoordinated set of services that are usually left to navigate on their own. felmy is this tragic for homeless families, there's a growing body of evidence that repeated housing stability is costly to public systems. the good news is that there are solutions. investing in or housing assistance now can save more money over the long term for schools, child welfare, health care system and other public institutions. in june of 2010 the obama administration acted for the

first time and the federal government set a goal to end family youth and homelessness by 2020. opening doors based on a growing body of evidence that shows how targeted comprehensive solutions are more cost-effective than temporary fixes. affordable housing is a cornerstone of any effort to reduce and ultimately end homelessness. the preservation and expansion of affordable housing through the new construction and rental assistance is critical to ending family homelessness. unfortunately though, the trend line for affordable housing are going in all of the wrong directions. to many americans cannot afford a safe place to call home. despite the growing need, housing assistance programs are threatened at all levels of government in the current budget environment. next to more affordable housing, prevention is also critical. targeted interventions that keep families from losing a home in the first place their children the trauma of homelessness to the absence from school or changes in school. the key drivers are access to

affordable housing, financial assistance and support during a crisis. another permanent solution is rabid rehousing. short term assistance, helps families quickly moved on was the sand into permanent housing. h-p are made an enormous impact just around the country and helps many communities shift to more cost-effective programs focused on preventing and rapid housing. housing stability over the long term requires the right types of support provided in a highly coordinated way. these include a good health care, education, transportation, child care and job that pays enough to meet household needs. federal collaboration is moving from the silo to the solution that connect these systems to prevent homelessness whenever possible, and when it is what happened to return and resolve it as quickly as possible. that is the work we are doing across the subtle agencies commesso too this needs to occur at state and local levels. what gets measured gets done in this administration is improved data collection, analysis and reporting. agencies within the hhs and the

da our cord meeting with hon on these efforts. the nation has faced economic uncertainties during the first 18 months of opening doors and implementation. but one thing remains clear homelessness is an urgent problem, only is it devastating to families and individuals to experience a net but it is costly to society as a whole. republicans and democrats in much congress across the country have collaborated for decades to fight homelessness. family use and child homelessness is an outrage should know no partisan boundaries and is an area where we can make a real difference together. we need to invest in what works, we need to invest in our future, our children. let us work together to ensure that by 2020 hot is an american child or used experiences as homelessness. thank you for the opportunity to testify and i look for your questions. >> thank you so much. dr. whitney or recognized for five minutes. >> good morning representative

bigger, representative green and members of the subcommittee can get into for the opportunity to provide testimony today my name is chris let me. for the past 15 years i served as stricter of the head start state collaboration office for the state of connecticut. since the hastert act requires that state collaboration office be in each state with states on specific priority areas which is children experiencing homelessness. for babies, toddlers and preschoolers living doubled up in motels and other homeless situations create toxic stress causing developmental challenges such as physical delays and failure to thrive, your instance of persisting illness, mental health problems such as trauma and depression, irritable peter, trouble eating and sleeping. young children, and your networks are actual genetic expressions and the architecture of their young brains are being created based on the repetition of experiences unhealthy conditions accumulate and seriously jeopardize the potential for a healthy future. for instance one of our former hastert managers explains that

children living in motels, and i quote, with an extremely crowded rooms with numerous family members and often have very limited food preparation options. often these environments are with eldora areas or unsafe so the children as first save in duty to see inside the borders. certainly not ideal for young children and of course as you know instance toddlers must move. many of these families would be excluded for using the hud definition. families living in the unstable conditions including those who reside in the motels and doubled up often move repeatedly. this is extremely stressful for babies and young children who help consistency and routine for healthy development and emotional stability. relocating requires families to requalify for the social services, provide a documentation, and yet again, and it can lose their place in line. high mobility is a stressful for parents, too and often leads to depression, which interferes with parenting, further compromising the child development. in connecticut we find that even young children in the hud shelters often are not getting

adequate services and they are delays and accessing services do purely to the lack of awareness and the needs of babies and toddlers and preschoolers. head start focus its services on those families most in need. head start uses the education definition of homelessness which recognizes the full range of the family and child homelessness that head start program see every day. head start is a mainstream program without sufficient capacity to serve all eligible children in fact of current funding head start nationally serves about 50% of eligible preschoolers in less than 5% of eligible toddlers. yet the programs are required to identify and prioritize -- for other homeless children do to their living circumstances. homeless families are allowed to enroll immediately while documentation is obtained. head start staff strive to begin services right away to offer or obtain services quickly and to work in whatever ways they can live community partners to remove barriers.

serving homeless children head start is the natural partner for the homelessness and housing service providers. the comprehensive to generational program that provides a full range of mental health, education and social services to children and their families. roughly half of children and the shelters are age five and under these are children who are not on their radar screen at the school. i was services of the providers are critical strategy to meet the multiple needs of homeless families that may otherwise go unmet. however since it does not consider many doubled families in which our homelessness cannot then provide the families with a critical referral to the hud programs. even those who might qualify or find the definition they still face barriers to to the requirements for documentation which can only be stressful but impossible for families. such can create delays in achieving stability for babies and young children consume precious step and resources and create circumstances which put

the needs of the honorable children's last and setting them further back developmentally. most beneficial for young children our policies and practices that recognize and a line with their unique needs and promote rather than hinder their health and future success. in closing we all share the goal of ending family homelessness. however without dedicated attention to the needs of young children working together for multiple systems we will fall far short of this goal. to break the cycle homelessness we must evaluate all homeless housing policies. including the definition of homelessness from a child to submit perspective. into the housing policy take into account the threat to for the lives of these young children the very dire consequences to the wellbeing of the nation. of doing anything less. thank you again for the opportunity to share my experiences and those of the head start for dams in the state of connecticut. >> thank you. now we turn to questions by the members and others a couple of

us here and really is important and it is a shame that there is so much going on and it just happens when we talk about homelessness when we keep pushing and pushing for this. so i will yield myself five minutes. the definition of hud as you know i worked on the definition before the education and i think that is when we realized the discovery of getting to know the numbers of how many homeless children there were because of enrolling in schools and being able to do that right away. and then finding out that, you know, hud didn't match that and the first generic definition of hud was just an individual who lacked a regular and light time

residents, and it was really address for what we would call the people that were living on the street or under the bridge, and very important they were protected by this but moving towards young people, children expanding dhaka was very slow and we had the harth act, and i can remember that hearing and there were few people there but it was the most important hearing and one of our members of congress testified the first time he had ever talked about the fact that he was homeless and had been abused and we were all in tears. all five of us. it has such an impact. we really work on changing the definition there. but it wasn't enough. and if you look at hud definition which is a general definition, but then the things you have to go through still that individual or family will

immediately eminently lose their house, their housing including the housing the own, rent or live in, sharing with others hotels or motels not paid for by a federal state or local government program, a court order individual or family having the primary night residence that is a room in a hotel or motel where they lack resources to reside there for more than 14 days or credible evidence that the owner will not allow the person to stay more than 14 days. there is no subsequent residence identified and the resources needed to obtain other permanent housing. unaccompanied and the homeless families with children having experienced a long-term period of living independent and permanent housing and experienced persistent instability as mentioned by a frequent moved can be expected to continue an extended period

what time. we really just can't make these kids jump through all those hoops. most of the children, homeless children are recognized by the department of education. they do not meet the standards and this is what has happened with some of the children that were here today. and they don't qualify. they don't meet the requirements, they don't qualify for the homeless housing and supportive services and we really have to make this change. i'm happy to see that you are really bringing this up and talking about it and doing it, but i think that it really has to have a definition that is the same as the ever agency that is the same as the department of education that we are going to get all of this together and that is why we have h.r. 32 as well as doing some other things. and i don't think that the kids on the panel or most of the

homeless kids recognize as harmless as i said by the department of education should be considered at risk. the kids are homeless. that is a problem and a challenge and so hud needs to recognize this fact and i think congress and every federal agency needs to work together to help these homeless kids and i would hope we could work together and continue to do that and as you do the rulemaking it's very important that you don't put up more and more barriers to do that and throughout your testimony you mentioned you couldn't help certain families secure housing assistance through the programs, and the reasons why family and children can't secure is important. can you address that quickly? >> as i indicated, 80% of our families as we identify are in

the double up situations. many of these families are chronically homeless. we work with these families ongoing year after year after year. they really don't qualify for the services and these families being that they've been chronically homeless there's a lot of mental health issues so the support of services are especially beneficial for the families that i served and i think we've heard today in the testimony that moving -- and they would be doubling up with somebody and they would be asked to leave for various reasons sometimes because people might be afraid that they have ruined it for one family and suddenly there is another family living there so they are sole legitimate, but i think just the idea that they are being kicked out of some place and they have nowhere to go and it keeps happening is --

>> because they are going from doubled up. they've already exhausted a lot of the family connections, family support systems. they've gone from a family member to family member and relocation they oversee their welcome this because of that the limitation and the resources to become limited as to where they can go so it gets to be a really challenging situation when they actually just move in because it has to be somewhere in the relative house and the have to ask for documentation to support they are homeless for hud would be a really challenging. >> we have a couple of people here today that are active and one is diane who has traveled all over the country visiting

through the country and has done a documentary that's called and i hope you had an opportunity to see that and then alexandra pelosi did one called the motel kids and was about the kids in florida that was very moving and of course 60 minutes has had a program on the slightly and we have barbara from the national coalition of homelessness, as we've got all the tools. we've got the help. we just have to get this done and we recognize the gentleman from texas for five minutes. >> thank you, madame chair. i speech read witnesses for appearing today. it has been said, and i will say it again, it is better to build a strong child than repair a broken adult. for those who deal on the social

sciences, the psychologists and psychiatrists, criminologists, paleontologists, when you to know i don't necessarily like the language of a broken adult, but i need to communicate. so just allow me to communicate i would be interested in knowing if you have seen in the empirical and evidence on the number of people who are incarcerated or were incarcerated who were homeless for some period of time in their lives. anyone with anything you can point me to ensure that google will help but you may give me a head start if you have some empirical evidence. >> one or two observations i have is years ago we did a study that looked in part at that

topic, and about 50% of homeless adults have had some and tiryns in the criminal-justice system either in prison or jail. i know having visited before i have seen their homeless prevention program at their. there are tremendous challenges we have in our cities and communities everywhere with people coming into the jail system because they are homeless and often leaving the system because they are homeless, as a prevention is a key factor here. >> someone indicated that people move from one state to another because they find that in state a didn't receive the resources that they can receive and state be. to what extent is this the case where we have people who literally live here -- you go over and get some help is steve? >> certainly the implementation of the federal programs of the

state and local level varies quite widely because great amount of discretion is given to the locals and states as to how the implement the federal programs. the other piece that occurs is the resources that the local governments contribute to the solutions also vary so some states contribute and support heavily homeless programs to provide assistance. other states provide very little if not no assistance at all and so the resources available to families vary quite greatly. you can see that great most in the on sheltered numbers is the high eight rates of one sheltered children and youth that we see primarily in southern states and in california is reflective of a lack of investment by the state or local government in real housing solutions to address the problem and so that variation is different from what services are free will in the state of new york for weld would be available in california.

>> what they receive these benefits from one seat to another? post indicate people are rooting for reasons of greater economic opportunities so they're moving to find a job and sometimes those jobs don't pan out the experience of business so it's not that the move for homeless services per say but a move because they were seeking a better job opportunities than they had in that situation those often in violence are fleeing a piece of situations and they do try to leave seats or other communities simply for safety reasons. >> i remember being in st. petersburg a couple years ago and there was a statewide conference on homelessness i was going to be speaking at the next morning and i was walking around the city talking with people that were out on the streets at night in a park and this one particular gentleman observed

that he's actually from ohio what he comes down in the summer actually in the wintertime to stay in florida. he's increasingly staying there time and time again. i was intrigued with that and as we look at our data within the communities all across the country, the vast majority of people do tend to stay within where the family is from, frankly, although there certainly are examples of barbara is mentioning that the greater economic opportunity will be searching wherever that might be. and i did was also the point i've seen huge disparities on the level of assistance provided 60 minutes contacted us before the did this story we provided them all the data that we had and they therefore picked the state of florida in large part because two-thirds of all homeless families live outside in florida. there are very few places like that in the country but every state is somewhat different, and that's certainly a huge concern of families with children living outside.

>> i really would like to explore this more but my time is limited, so i will move on to something else. we have heard a good indication that one can be housed in a homeless, doubled up a house you've put living with a friend, and the intelligence that you have coded with how this impacts the 400 years of very young and children is very disturbing which gets us to this notion of the need for a common definition of a common vocabulary. common vocabulary to be a great benefit among agencies as i understand your testimony today. i also understand, and i want you to help me with this is a genuine appeal for assistance to these definitions promulgate

because there was a need that they were trying to meet, so they arrived at a definition would work for the given need which is developing these silos and definitions in stovepipes it didn't function well across lives. how do we deal with the different means that have to be met with a common definition and i hopeful in the leading that we are moving in the right direction pity i just want to hear from the experts on the record as to how we get it done. so which of the experts would like to first? >> mr. johnston? >> about two years ago hud and the department of health and human services and education launched an effort and submitted a proposal to congress to try a demonstration in particular for homeless families and another one for currently homeless persons and we are trying to link up mainstream resources that hud has with hhs and

education, it was interesting, this went on for about a year in terms of relief fine-tuning what we could use and when we spoke the word homeless it certainly was used in different ways for my good friend john mclaughlin from education as you describe what homelessness meant so the need for the common vocabulary is incredibly valuable. when we interview the jeal we certainly supported that and looked forward to that and i know that we have taken great leadership to move forward on that because the challenge in this country is there are some and different needs a huge housing needs that we have got to be able to converse very well across the agencies at fellow and local levels to solve this problem. >> mr.. >> i would agree that there is a tremendous need and i certainly think that we should do more to invest both in people and initial for and people who were

living in situations of all kinds, new york city was a great effort and the funding we have used in a targeted way for at risk families in particular. our concern with a broadening the definition so is diluting the resources at the time of little or even declining funding broadening the definition away from shelter means taking resources away from the shelter system to use other situations there are other needs clearly and there are funding streams available but we really need to make sure that we continue our investment and those in the shelter because our high need families have a variety of case management and other kinds of services that need to be provided at your going to leave the shelter system. >> ms. poppe, would you care to respond? >> what i want to add is as we've heard all the testimony this morning from the young

people, they in fact all eligible for hud programs related to providing mainstream housing assistance, but the reality is the mainstream housing programs are oversubscribed. hud programs complete about one-fourth of the needs for those who were eligible, and so the larger issue goes back to the need for the resources to meet those needs and that is why the interagency council has worked across the definition towards this and have created a common vocabulary so that even in these places we can talk about the different eligibility criteria and how we can try to effectively use the scarce resources that are available to get families who are living vicariously and doubled up and really in difficult circumstances the best access to affordable housing which is what i heard each of these young people testify about what will they were really looking for with the safe stable home. and we just as a country haven't yet made that commitment.

the resources the federal, state and local private sector resources week that occur and that is the work that sits before us. that is the larger call to end homelessness. >> thank you very much ms. bigger. there is another round. >> let's do another round. let's go to mr. sherman first. >> we have a shortage of housing for the homeless, an incredible shortage of money in the federal government. and we've got an enormous surplus of board of houses at least in some communities. is there a way that we can use the housing stock that has already been constructed but to meet these needs and knowing some of these houses are boarded up or 2,000 square feet is there any way that they can accommodate more than one

homeless family? stat i will last mr. johnston. >> we do have an initiative that we've had for years and certainly much more active during the years we have huge foreclosures like in the recent past with the discounts can be made to allow these houses to be used for a variety of different reasons it's one thing to find somebody that's homeless to use them to make mortgage payments is the kind of burden the you're talking about or are you talking about a program by which community organizations acquired ownership of these structures many of these foreclosed properties have been turned over to those in the last year i will

get that answer for you because i don't know. >> everywhere i look -- well, not everywhere i look in many places you looked around the country the homes are already been boarded up. they're being torn down the ones that are being torn down are in bad shape when measured against good housing the polis consists to sleeping in your car. so, we are in this bizarre circumstance of where we have got a board of houses and people on the streets. ..

for nonprofit organizations. >> what problems are you having having -- >> i'm sorry, what? >> well, we are just now launching the implementation of the hardtack amendments. the definition of homelessness, for instance comes in on january 4th. the first program coming out of the line of solutions grants program, which is january's

report as well. i mention we have identified a few technical challenges, technical errors that we found in the lot that are going to be limiting communities. for instance, one of the disconcerting when -- >> when you should discover these errors then went to prevent to the attention of members of this community? >> well, committee staff recently received a copy of them to look at. we proved them on it. >> when you discover the problems? >> we discovered the problems probably a year and a half, two years ago. and that beset the this said it was hopeful to enact changes to disk. >> so you come up out of the secure and half ago, we did a year and a half into the house, that somebody in the senate do about the problems and was trying to do something about it.

i yield back. >> said he sent it to the house of lords, which takes a while to get to the states. could we see a copy of it, please? i have not received anything. appreciate it. thank you. .or whitney, you highlight some very compelling evidence from many of the barriers that have prevented the children from getting the housing assistance and services firm had. and i don't read them over again. that's in your testimony, but i want to stay thank you for all that you are doing. i had the opportunity years and years ago. i am a lawyer and was waiting for my shot that was going to start in september, so i spent the summer volunteering on head start and a whole house in chicago. it was the first year. it had just opened.

so i will tell you how long ago that was, but it was a long time ago. it is really -- that was kind of this started really hoping preschool kids to be ready to go to school and we just need more and more at that rate now. and we need the kids better and homeless -- i guess i'm not asking questions really, but i really would hope we could always together to solve this and really take a look at removing these barriers because the more regulations weakening, the harder it is. i know it seems like you don't really like h.r. 32. >> well, i am certainly supportive of the concept of investing in people who are in difficult housing situations. the city makes the major investment in trying to help those families and we have offices throughout the cities that provide them.

our concern or shelters a very expensive and needed resource in new york city. the custer thousand dollars a month to keep the family and shelter. if we're going to take money away from the shelter system, it will have an impact on our ability to protect those families. that is our concern. not that there is a need or if they're increasing resources available we would want to invest in everyone who asked me, but our concern is taking resources away from those in the shelters. >> that really is a different issue, but i know this is something that even when we are trying to do the hard fact ticket that drew and get everybody on board was difficult, but i think everybody now realizes the importance of it and i think new york is probably doing more than a lot of the states really and programs you have. i really would like to see us all be on board with making sure

that there are these barriers. would you like to make another comment? >> i have just one comment and i wanted to us and make the point in talking about the benefits of the common vocabulary is one of the other things it does is allows you to do a much better job of measuring homelessness, which then allows you to know what it is you are dealing with in a much more complete way. the prioritizing does have to take days, but you can't really can prioritize if you don't know the extent of the problem. so for that purpose, having a common vocabulary allows measurement to have been. >> another measure on would be the same. >> hopefully. that would be to hope. with that, i yield to. >> yes, ma'am, i make it very brief. at take two if anything the

staff. they just provided us in an in an ordinance not of intelligence and it means a lot to people to assist us to the extent they do. following up on what you said is a category? do others agree a common definition would yield greater intelligence of the length, breadth, width, depth of the problem? is there anyone it differs? >> i think there's a distinction between common vocabulary in common definition in the sense that if we all understand the terms we are using come with a common dictionary we can all use and understand each other, communicate and implement programs. i too have a concern as does mr. diamond. if you were to expand its definition, which is in the low to, for instance, the education definition, it's got some big challenges that day. what they mean is we have enough funding from congress for three years in a row to house 200,000

people in transitional housing. expanding the definition greatly does not allow this to save a single additional person and that is sort of the concern we have about having one common definition. when the resource we provide are very, very expensive. >> i might've put that -- that it the wrong way. what we are looking for is that if a child is a child is homeless under the definition education, and then they should be considered homeless. it doesn't really put that definition into hud. it doesn't expand it. two adults. >> thank you, not in chair. let me move to another area rather quickly. this is an area of veterans who are homeless and they have

children too of course. and all children are that no child should be elevated to send status higher than another. but i'm curious, do we have, miss poppy, any intelligence on the children of veterans clinics >> thank you, mr. crean for this question. this is an area that has been a strong focus of the president and va secretary shin seki to focus on the needs of homeless veterans that we might one day and not by 2015. just this week reported a 12% reduction in the percentage of veterans experiencing homelessness. there are a couple of new programs that have been really pushed out by this administration. one is that program. the bash program provides combined with health care services and other supports to the va. that program is able to serve veterans families, and putting the children in them.

so the holistic response to veterans homelessness. the va has also just put together with support of congress, the supportive services for veterans families. the program provides flexible assistant that can serve families of children. historically the va services have been limited to the veteran themselves and with these initiatives they can now serve family members who are part of that. so yes, we are seeing veterans families unfortunately experiencing homelessness and yes we are able to respond and believe these responses or whether contributing to the overall reduction in the homelessness veterans. >> madam chair, i want to thank you again. i love the witnesses that the chair recently marked a for homes for years. whose sole responsibility with the two monitor homelessness among veterans and they would be

a report in congress. so i want to thank you for allowing that legislation to receive a mark to and hopefully will matriculate through congress and into the president's desk. thank you very much. >> the gentleman is very humble. his legislation that passed. one further thing for clarification. you note in your testimony that the department of education identified nearly 1 million homeless students during the 2009, 2010 school year. and there was an 18% increase since the 2007, 2008 school year. so you know that some evidence of just the homelessness among children is increasing. how do you explain the discrepancy between the hud report numbers reported by the administration on tuesday and

the education numbers? >> i haven't looked at them in great detail, but i would assume that part of the discrepancy is the definitional differences still. >> thank you. what not, i have a request by the unanimous consent to insert into the hearing record. the following materials into the record. december 7, 2011 letter from women against abuse. december 8th letter from national center on family homeless, letter from chicago coalition for the homelessness, letter for the national human services assembly, letter from the social work association of america, letter from the american school counselor association. letter from first took his campaign for children, letter from harris, letter from the homeless prenatal program, letter from the national

association of realtors and the national coalition and letter for the national housing and telegrapher letter from the national note irk for youth. letter from the western regional advocacy project, letter from a national health care for the homeless council, letter from alliance excellent education, letter for the national loss, letter for the national association for education and newsletter from the american bar association, newsletter from family promise of men and, letter from the national network to domestic violence violence, letter from horizons from his children, letter for an interfaith hospitality of austria, letter from helena, letter from interfaith hospitality network of burlington county, letter from family promise of morris county, letter from interfaith hospitality network's of essex county, letter from the family promise of foresight county, letter from the road home letter from the family promise of

albuquerque, letter from the fort bend family promise, letter from interfaith hospitality network of northwest philadelphia, letter from the family promise of mehmet county, letter from family promise of north idaho, letter from family promise of the way, letter from the national pta, letter from secondary school principals, report from the national center in the homelessness in the june 21 in data collection summary report from the u.s. department of education without objection. >> madam chair, i've unanimous consent as well from the national medal in and housing coalition. >> without objection. we left one out? and thank you all. i really thank you for being him and thank you for your testimony. the chair has said some members may have additional questions

for the panel, which they may wish to spend in writing without objection the record will remain open for 30 days for members to submit written questions to these witnesses and to place their responses in the record. and there is one more request for unanimous consent. the international association of home builders said that objection. with that, thank you so much and it's been a great panel. thank you. this hearing is adjourned. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

>> there are more than 800 republican caucus is being held in iowa tonight. we are going inside one of them being held here at the high school in trainer, which is in western iowa, 15 minutes east of council bluffs. polling shows as many as 41% of likely republican caucus goers are undecided on which candidate to vote for in their caucuses tonight. some of what we will see, a few coders make short speeches in favor of their candidates and then everyone by their choice on a piece of paper and are counted by hand. those results are considered a

straw poll and maybe the media. after all the voting is over, the cafés alexa go to the county convention that leads to participation at the national republican convention being held in late august. so we watched that entire process today. and then get an update from the tv station in des moines on how things are shaping up statewide. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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>> to voting precincts have combined at this caucus here at treynor high school in the western part of iowa. they advocate creek and silver streak precincts. we chose this caucus to give you a look at a more rural area. on c-span two cover another caucus in a more urban area in urbandale, iowa, closer to des moines. i'm tomorrow morning's "washington journal," we'll have a preview of next week's new hampshire primary was he was he a look back on executive director of the new hampshire institute of politics. also, former pennsylvania governor and homeland security secretary, tom ridge, talks about his support for republican presidential candidate, john huntsman. a look at the economic plans

with christian science monitor mark trumbull. "washington journal" will start at 7:00 a.m. eastern time on c-span. [inaudible conversations] [inaudible conversations]

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