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Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Another Advocacy Step Forward


Great news! The House of Representatives passed a McKinney Vento Reauthorization Bill. Some of the wonderful youth that volunteered with me at Union Mission this summer wrote letters to their members of Congress about this. Amazing job, guys! This bill helps make it easier for agencies like Union Mission to help homeless families and do homelessness prevention (help people sooner.) It also makes it easier for folks out in the country (rural areas) to get help. For all of you who want to do some more writing, how about contacting your Senators? The House version of the bill will hopefully go up for a vote in the Senate before the end of the year. This will probably not happen until after the election, so there is time to write! And, it won't be on the President's desk unless both the House and the Senate pass the bill!

For great tips about writing a legislative advocacy letter, you can e-mail my dear friend Laura at lwebb@unionmission.org or take a look at the National Alliance to End Homelessness website, http://www.endhomelessness.org/. Look for legislative update info there.

P.S. This photo is of me with Ms. Auleria Crawford and her son Eric. Just wanted to send a shout out to both during football season! I am proud to count you as friends.