Title
To declare May 9 - May 16, 2004 as Homeless Awareness Week.
Body
WHEREAS, the week beginning with Mother's Day has been recognized by the City of Columbus as Homeless Awareness Week since 1996; and
WHEREAS, The Columbus Coalition for the Homeless, which annually sponsors Homeless Awareness Week, has as its sole mission "to work toward ending homelessness by educating the Central Ohio community about homelessness and housing issues and advocating in a unified voice for social and economic justice for all people; and
WHEREAS, there are citizens in this community who do not have a place to call home due to factors such as a critical shortage of adequate, safe and affordable housing; a lack of consistent and available treatment for mental illness and substance abuse; unemployment and under employment; the many degrees of personal and institutional racism which are manifested in our society; and a lack of affordable and accessible health care; and
WHEREAS, while our community has made significant strides to eliminate homelessness through supportive housing development, the funding of critical health, mental health and substance abuse programs, and the use of available federal and state funding, there remain many individuals, families and children who still define themselves homeless; and
WHEREAS, Homeless Awareness Week, which traditionally begins with a Mother's Day Brunch served free of charge to homeless mothers and their children and ends with the annual free Musicians' Homeless Awareness Concert (2004 is the 9th such concert), has served as a means of communicating to the community the needs of homeless persons and the services they receive from a wide variety of providers, so that thousands of people have been informed and educated about homelessness in the Central Ohio area over the years; and
WHEREAS, because there remain many individuals, families and children who define themselves as homeless and the need to educate the Central Ohio community about homelessness through Homeless Awareness Week continues; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
That this Council does hereby proclaim May 9th through May 16th as Homeless Awareness Week and encourage the community to learn about homelessness and the factors which cause and perpetuate it.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we support the efforts of the Columbus Coalition for the Homeless and its partner agencies to inform and educate the public and resolve homeless issues.