We extend our congratulations to President elect Barack Obama and Vice-President elect Joe Biden. We also congratulate all the new Members of Congress who will come to Washington in January. We have been pleased to work with the office of Senator Obama on issues relating to homeless veterans, and to support successful efforts by Senator Biden to improve the Violence Against Women Act.
We look forward to working with the new Administration on a sensible national policy to end homelessness - one which maintains federal oversight while allowing local communities the flexibility they need to make the most effective use of federal homeless assistance funding. We also hope that the new Administration will continue efforts to end long term street homelessness, including homelessness among veterans, while adding a new focus on children and families without homes. If we do not help these families now, countless children will grow up to become the next generation of homeless adults.
As this article shows, the current economic and foreclosure crisis is leading to dramatic increases in family homelessness. Responding to this challenge is the most pressing activity in the field of homelessness.
We look forward to helping the new Administration provide support to these families - by protecting innocent tenants, providing new resources to help families move into new permanent housing, and offering additional housing resources through the Section 8 program. All of these activities should be coordinated with local school districts and other agencies serving children and youth who are homeless. Along with homeless shelters, schools are the "canaries in the coal mine" - the first government entities to identify increases in child, youth, and family homelessness.