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| Wilson, Welch Introduce Bill to Fight Homelessness |
June 06, 2007 |
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Bipartisan Bill Increases Funds for Rural States
Washington, DC – Reps. Heather Wilson (R-NM) and Peter Welch (D-VT) today announced they are introducing a bipartisan bill to help the homeless suffering from mental illness in rural states.
The Wilson-Welch legislation increases the minimum funding that states receive and helping small states and states with rural populations such as New Mexico and Vermont.
The Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness (PATH) program was created under the Public Health Service Act in 1990. It is a formula block grant to provide services for homeless or those at imminent risk of becoming homeless because of mental illness. It has successfully identified homeless people suffering from mental illness and helped deliver the medical treatment they need to lead stable lives.
However, the current funding formula for PATH was developed 17 years ago and fails to account for increasing homelessness in states with rural and frontier populations. As a result, several states have not had an increase in PATH funding since the program’s inception in 1991.
The Wilson-Welch legislation fights homelessness by increasing PATH minimums to correct unbalanced formula distributions.
“We need to make sure every state has the resources to identify and help people who are homeless and suffering from mental illness,” Wilson said. “This program has been effective at bringing stability to their lives and funding for it should be equitable.”
“The federal government should be a working partner with local communities in combating the tragic issue of rural homelessness,” said Welch. “This bipartisan legislation shows promise for effectively addressing mental illness affecting so many of the homeless in Vermont and other rural areas.”
“The PATH program helps connect people to services and housing who might otherwise never be connected and, as a result, is an effective tool in helping to end homelessness in New Mexico. However, due to a flawed funding formula rural states like New Mexico have not been able to expand this valuable program and reach more people,” said Lisa LaBrecque, Policy & Advocacy Director of the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness. “This is an important bill that fixes the funding formula so that New Mexico, and other rural states, can receive a fair share of PATH funding.”
PATH requires matching funds of $1 from the state for each $3 federal. The minimum mandated allotment for states is $300,000. Additional funds are then distributed via a formula based on a proportion of “the population living in urbanized areas of the State.”
This Bill increases PATH minimums from $300,000 to $600,000. The legislation also includes a protection for urban states, so increases to the minimums would not come out of their PATH allocations.
In fiscal year 2005, Congress appropriated $52.4 million for the PATH program. Up to 20 percent of the federal payments may be used for housing subsidies and other services to help individuals access housing resources. While Congress has increased overall PATH funding, many states such as New Mexico and Vermont continue to receive the same minimum allocation they received in 1991.
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