September 07, 2004
“We are here today to send the message to the Bush Administration that we must end homelessness now because housing is a fundamental human right! This is a message critical to the average American because under this Administration, homelessness has become a way of life for far too many families.”
“My home state of California is supposed to be a land of riches, but homelessness robs the state of its promise. On any given night, there are over 360,000 people homeless in our great state. Over the course of a year, 1 million Californians are homeless.”
“I guarantee that you won’t see many stories on the over 2.5 million homeless men, women and children throughout this country! You won’t hear stories on how our streets have become poor substitutes for treating those in our country desperately in need of medical care: 22% of the homeless in our cities are considered mentally ill, and 37% suffer from substance abuse.”
“The Administration can approve billions of dollars for rebuilding Iraq, but we can’t come up with the relatively small resources necessary to end homelessness in this country. This Administration must develop new priorities. We as a country must develop new priorities. We must make housing a basic civil right.”
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Congresswoman Barbara Lee Participates in National Coalition for the Homeless Rally on the Bush Administration’s Turning a Blind Eye to Problem of Homelessness in America
Washington, DC – For a rally sponsored by the National Coalition for the Homeless on the Bush Administration’s unwillingness to reduce homelessness in America, Congresswoman Barbara Lee (D-CA) made the following statement:“We are here today to send the message to the Bush Administration that we must end homelessness now because housing is a fundamental human right! This is a message critical to the average American because under this Administration, homelessness has become a way of life for far too many families.”
“My home state of California is supposed to be a land of riches, but homelessness robs the state of its promise. On any given night, there are over 360,000 people homeless in our great state. Over the course of a year, 1 million Californians are homeless.”
“I guarantee that you won’t see many stories on the over 2.5 million homeless men, women and children throughout this country! You won’t hear stories on how our streets have become poor substitutes for treating those in our country desperately in need of medical care: 22% of the homeless in our cities are considered mentally ill, and 37% suffer from substance abuse.”
“The Administration can approve billions of dollars for rebuilding Iraq, but we can’t come up with the relatively small resources necessary to end homelessness in this country. This Administration must develop new priorities. We as a country must develop new priorities. We must make housing a basic civil right.”
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