WHEREAS, More than 1,000 Philadelphia children and youth sleep in a shelter every night according to an August 2011 report entitled,
Philadelphia Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Practical Strategies for Action
; and
WHEREAS, Homelessness is not simply defined by living in a shelter, but includes an invisible part of the population that has unstable living conditions and that live from couch to couch; and
WHEREAS, Thousands of Philadelphia youth and children struggle with the issues of housing, employment, education, healthcare and general welfare; and
WHEREAS, The Mural Arts Program has dedicated its efforts to highlighting the issue of housing insecurity for Philadelphia youth through its project,
A Place to Call Home
, as a way to give an outlet to the youth involved, where their stories and struggles inspire the art, and help draw attention to the issue and the housing resources available; and
WHEREAS, On June 10th , the Mural Arts Program will dedicate
A Place to Call Home
, bringing together Mayor Nutter, members of the Family Service Provider Network, various housing providers, community members and the general public to experience the project; and
WHEREAS, The dedication will highlight the issue of housing from a youth perspective and announce the establishment of Homeless Children Awareness Day, the beginning of a city-wide recognition of this widespread issue; now therefore, be it,
RESOLVED, BY THE PHILADELPHIA CITY COUNCIL, That the day of June 10th 2011 is declared Homeless Children Awareness Day.
End