COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND HOUSING COMMITTEE

A COMPREHENSIVE FEDERAL PLAN FOR HUNGER AND HOMELESSNESS

WHEREAS, the Federal government has played a critical role in helping America’s cities address poverty and homelessness; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Conference of Mayors 1999 Report on Hunger and Homelessness in America’s Cities and recent data suggest that while many more families are prospering than ever before, the gulf between the haves and have-nots has increased, as have housing cost in many cities, leading to increasing numbers of families and individuals to be homeless or at risk of becoming homeless; and

WHEREAS, the 1999 report finds that demand for emergency food-related assistance during 1999 grew at the highest level since 1992, and demand for emergency housing-related assistance grew at the highest level since 1994; and

WHEREAS, among the causes of homelessness, lack of affordable housing leads the list, followed by substance abuse, low wages, domestic violence, mental illness, poverty, and changes to public assistance programs; and

WHEREAS, America’s cities lack the resources to adequately respond to the increased demand for emergency shelter and emergency food assistance; and

WHEREAS, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has led efforts through the McKinney program to ensure that municipalities develop and implement comprehensive "Continuum of Care" to serve homeless individuals and families and proposed $1.2 billion in its FY2001 budget for homeless assistance; and

WHEREAS, HUD McKinney funds have allowed cities to leverage these funds extensively with local, state and privately-raised dollars to provide critical supportive services and housing needed to help individuals and families move out of homelessness; and

WHEREAS, Shelter Plus Care, currently a component of the McKinney program, provides critically needed rental subsidies to homeless individuals and families, which the Administration recognizes as requiring its own dedicated full funding to complement the McKinney structure; and

WHEREAS, there is a concurrent need, similar to that of Shelter Plus Care, to ensure the sustainability of the supportive services and other housing programs established by local Continuum of Care; and

WHEREAS, many of these highly effective programs, which remain essential elements of local Continuums of Care, including transitional housing and supportive services such as substance abuse and mental health services and job training, now require renewal funding that local governments cannot fully subsume,

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors makes the fight against hunger and homelessness a top priority for the year 2000; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors calls for the passage of the Hunger Relief Act and Food Stamp Outreach and Research for Kids Act to address problems of hunger and food insecurity; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress and the Administration to expeditiously enact legislation that moves the Shelter Plus Care renewals under the Section 8 program and provides dedicated full funding for the renewal of these contracts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the U.S. Conference of Mayors urges Congress and the Administration to enact additional legislation that provides dedicated full funding for supportive services, transitional housing, and other permanent housing programs initially established through the McKinney Homeless Assistance program and require renewal funds to continue operations of these essential programs and services; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the U.S. Conference of Mayors supports the permanent creation of a Community Housing Investment Trust dedicated to the creation and preservation of permanent housing for extremely low-income families and individuals.