April 14, 2009
President Obama Pledges to Address Child Homelessness
March 25, 2009
Newton, MA: Saying he is “heartbroken that any child in America is homeless,” President Barack Obama last night pledged his administration would be “initiating a range of programs…to deal with homelessness.”
Asked about a new report that found one in 50 American children homeless (see www.HomelessChildrenAmerica.org), President Obama echoed the report’s central message when he declared “it is not acceptable for children and families to be without a roof over their heads in a country as wealthy as ours.” For video, click here.
“I want to thank President Obama for saying last night that it is unacceptable for children and families to be homeless in America,” said Ellen L. Bassuk, M.D., President of the National Center on Family Homelessness and Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. “Our report shows that thousands of homeless children in every state in the nation are sick, hungry, and scared. Even one child in this desperate situation is too many. We are eager to join with the President to end this national tragedy.” The National Center is also active on behalf of homeless veterans, another concern raised last night by President Obama.
The report cited in the President’s press conference was issued by the National Center on Family Homelessness (www.familyhomelessness.org). As home foreclosures and the economic crisis spread across the nation, the numbers of homeless children and families are growing. America’s Youngest Outcasts: State Report Card on Child Homelessness presents the clearest snapshot of how these children are doing and how states are responding to their precarious plight.
National Center on Family Homelessness
The National Center on Family Homelessness, founded in 1988, is the nation’s foremost authority on family homelessness and the only national organization dedicated solely to helping homeless families. Through state-of-the-art research, program design, and public education, the National Center is committed to ending family homelessness in America.
Media Contact: Christina Jordan, 617-969-7146, Christina.Jordan@familyhomelessness.org
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