PROVIDENCE, RI - In an effort to help local communities reduce homelessness nationwide, U.S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) today unveiled a bipartisan bill to provide $2.2 billion for targeted homelessness assistance grant programs. At a press conference at Amos House in South Providence with Eileen Hayes, President and CEO of Amos House and Jim Ryczek, Executive Director of Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless, Reed announced the introduction of the Homeless Emergency Assistance and Rapid Transition to Housing (HEARTH) Act of 2009. This bill, cosponsored by Senator Kit Bond (R-MO), would provide $2.2 billion for targeted homelessness assistance grant programs and increase current levels of funding for homelessness assistance grants by $600 million. It would also expand the definition of homelessness in order to help families on the verge of becoming homeless and reauthorize federal homelessness aid programs for the first time since 1989.

"Homelessness is a pervasive problem that touches every state across the nation. While strides have been made to reduce homelessness over the last couple of years, the current economic decline has halted such progress. We have already seen tent cities forming, shelters turning away people in need, and most major cities reporting double digit increases in the numbers of families experiencing homelessness. This bill invests $2.2 billion for targeted homelessness assistance grants and provides local communities with greater flexibility to spend the money on programs that work," said Reed, a senior member of the Banking Committee, which oversees federal housing policy. "We cannot afford to ignore this problem. My bipartisan legislation combines federal dollars with new incentives to help local communities assist families on the brink of becoming homeless. It is a wise investment of federal resources that will save taxpayers money in the long run by preventing homelessness, promoting the development of permanent supportive housing, and optimizing self-sufficiency."

According to the Homelessness Research Institute at the National Alliance to End Homelessness, 2.5 to 3.5 million Americans experience homelessness each year. On any one night, approximately 672,000 men, women, and children are without homes. Studies show that children are most likely to experience hunger, chronic health problems, and long-term damage as a result of being homeless. As a result of the recession, 1.5 million additional Americans nationwide are likely to experience homelessness over the next two years, according to estimates by the National Alliance to End Homelessness. This means more trauma for children and adults, more dislocation from schools and communities, and more of a drain on local community services.

The latest data from the RI Coalition for the Homeless shows that in February 2009 the number of Rhode Islanders experiencing homelessness is up 43 percent over February of 2008 levels. And the number of shelter residents who cited foreclosure as their reason for becoming homeless tripled in the last eight months.

"We applaud Senator Jack Reed for being a national leader on the issues of homelessness and affordable housing," stated Jim Ryczek, Executive Director of the RI Coalition for the Homeless. "Senator Reed's bill is a much needed remedy as it provides the flexibility and innovation needed to address the dire economic times we are facing and the new problems of foreclosure and family homelessness that we are experiencing. This bill will make a tremendous impact in our ability, here in Rhode Island, to assist those who are becoming homeless due to foreclosure, eviction, and unemployment."

"At a time of growing homelessness in Rhode Island the HEARTH Act is a breath of fresh air and a sign of hope. This Act may be the answer we have all been waiting for to finally see the end of homelessness in our state. We in Rhode Island are proud to be represented by such a remarkable man as Senator Reed," said Eileen Hayes, President and CEO of Amos House.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which Congress passed earlier this year, provides $1.5 billion to cities and states to help prevent homelessness. However, programs providing assistance to families already without shelter are facing increasingly cash-strapped budgets. The HEARTH Act seeks to reauthorize the landmark McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act of 1987. It would simplify and consolidate three competitive U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) homelessness assistance programs into one program and allow more funding to flow to communities that can demonstrate a commitment to accomplishing the goals of preventing and ending homelessness. It would also:

• Allow up to 20% of funds or up to $440 million dollars to be used to for homeless prevention initiatives. This new "Emergency Solutions Grant" program would allow cities and towns to serve people who are about to be evicted, live in severely overcrowded housing, or otherwise live in an unstable situation that puts them at risk of homelessness.

• Require HUD to provide incentives for communities to implement proven strategies to significantly reduce homelessness.

• Provide local communities with greater flexibility to spend money on preventing homelessness.

• Expand the definition of homelessness, which determines eligibility for much of the homeless assistance funding, to include people who will lose their housing in 14 days (current practice is 7 days) and people fleeing or attempting to flee domestic violence, or other dangerous or life threatening situations.

The Reed-Bond bill has 11 original cosponsors, including: U.S. Senators Daniel Akaka (D-HI), Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME), Richard Durbin (D-IL), John Kerry (D-MA), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Joe Lieberman (I-CT), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI).

Groups endorsing the HEARTH Act include: The National Alliance to End Homelessness; the U.S. Conference of Mayors; the National Association of Counties; National Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies; National Community Development Association; the National Housing Conference; the Corporation for Supportive Housing; National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); Consortium for Citizens With Disabilities Housing Task Force; Habitat for Humanity; Technical Assistance Collaborative; and the Housing Assistance Council.