Washington, DC (September 27, 2006) – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.Res. 1009, a resolution to support greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs.  Congressman Rubén Hinojosa (TX-15), a co-sponsor of the resolution, voted for the measure. 

Below are Congressman Hinojosa’s remarks delivered today on the floor of the House of Representatives, as prepared for delivery:
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“Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.Res.1009, a resolution to support greater public awareness of effective runaway youth prevention programs.  I would like to thank the gentleman from Nevada, Mr. Porter for bringing this forward.  I am proud to be a cosponsor.

“November is National Runaway Prevention Month.   I am proud that this body, in a bipartisan manner comes together each year to commemorate this month and to urge our communities to get involved in runaway prevention activities.

“Runaway Prevention Month is a public education campaign spearheaded by the National Runaway Switchboard (NRS) and the National Network for Youth (NNY) to:

• Increase the awareness of the issues facing runaways, and
• Educate the public about the solutions and the role they can play in preventing youth from running away

“It is a national tragedy that an estimated 1.6 to 2.8 million young people live on the street each year.  One out of seven children in the United States runs away from home before the age of 18.  The dangers these young people face on the streets cannot be overstated. 

“In my home state of Texas, our runaway and youth crisis hotlines offer crisis intervention, telephone counseling, and referrals to troubled youth and families. A volunteer workforce of about 60 people answer the phones. Many callers face a variety of problems including family conflict, delinquency, truancy, and abuse and neglect issues. The program increases public awareness through television, radio, billboards and other media efforts. Hotline telephone counselors respond to about 40,000 calls annually.    These people are true heroes because they save lives.

“The Runaway and Homeless Youth Act represents our national commitment to protecting and improving the lives of our most at risk youth.  Sadly, funding for these programs has been eroded with the across-the-board cuts we have been seeing in our appropriations bills over the past few years.

“I hope that this year, this Congress will commemorate Runaway Prevention Month by increasing the resources available to keep our young people safe, healthy, and off the streets.  I urge my colleagues to support this resolution, and I reserve the balance of my time.”