PLATFORM : A Loss for Children
The Homeless Families Program last year provided 200,000 children and their families with temporary and permanent shelter. It costs $40 million, but attracts $40 million in federal matching funds and will save the government hundreds of millions of dollars down the road.
When kids have a roof over their heads, they are less likely to get sick, drop out of school or commit crimes.
More than one-third of the mothers in homeless families have been victims of domestic violence. Others are homeless because they have been laid off jobs or suffered sudden illnesses. Without the program, they would have remained homeless for far longer at far greater cost to their children and society.
If the program is cut by 50% as the governor proposes, it is the children who will suffer. In poll after poll, the voters have said they do not want to cut the safety net on which their lives depend.
Are the politicians listening?
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