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WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL)
today called on the President to include $50 million in his FY 2003 budget
to help women and children fleeing domestic abuse.
In a bipartisan letter organized by Schakowsky
and signed by 76 House members, the members wrote, “we request that
you include $50 million in the Housing and Urban Development FY 2003 budget
for transitional housing assistance to individuals who are fleeing domestic
abuse.” The members pointed out that transitional housing assistance
was authorized in the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act
of 2000 for one year, however, this vital program never received any appropriations.
They added, “Transitional housing can help
prevent domestic violence by giving women and their children a safe place
to go. This program is even more critical now since, as families
are struggling to survive in this economy, domestic violence rates are
expected to rise. Currently, emergency shelters struggle to meet
an increased demand for services, with 32 percent of the requests for shelter
by homeless families going unmet and 88 percent of cities having to turn
away homeless families because of inadequate resources. Battered
women and their children comprise an increasing proportion of the population
in need of emergency shelter.”
“It is crucial to provide a stable, sustainable
home base for women who have left situations of domestic violence and are
learning new job skills, participating in educational programs, working
full-time jobs, or searching for adequate child care in order to gain self-sufficiency.
Transitional housing resources and services provide a continuum between
emergency shelter provision and independent living,” they concluded.
Last Congress, Schakowsky introduced the Domestic
Violence and Sexual Assault Victims’ Housing Act to ensure adequate emergency
shelters for women and children fleeing domestic abuse, which was included
in the Violence Against Women Act of 2000. Schakowsky will introduce
the same legislation next month, which is cosponsored by a bipartisan group
of over 90 House members, and would authorize $50 million for a transitional
housing program for FY 2003 and funding for subsequent years
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