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"Homeless Youth don't choose to live on the
streets, the sad truth that they feel safer there"
House of Representatives - June 19, 2007

Prepared testimony from Multi-platinum singer and songwriter Jewel at a Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee hearing on disconnected and disadvantaged youth

Chairman McDermott, Ranking Member Weller, and members of this Subcommittee, thank you for allowing me to appear before you today on behalf of those who otherwise have no voice - America's homeless, disconnected and disadvantaged youth.

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The issue of homeless youth is complicated by misperceptions about why kids become homeless. Many of us here today have probably seen youth homelessness but didn't realize it was staring us in the face.

Maybe you walked by a kid who was sitting on a bench, and rather than thinking he was homeless, or someone who was forced into prostitution in order to make enough money to eat everyday, you thought he looked like a punk kid who ditched school and was waiting for his friends.

Consider being homeless for a few confused, long and lonely days. Consider spending years on the streets after being kicked out of home by an abusive, alcoholic mother. Consider being in foster care where your new foster parents don't seem to care whether you're there or not and never ask you what you need. What if the home you have been placed in is abusive and dysfunctional? You may either run away because no one seems to care, or you are told at age 18 you have to leave because you are too old for foster care. There are no resources available to you and you are now homeless.

Think about your children or grandchildren. Think for a second about a 12-year-old girl. What if her first sexual experience didn't come at a time of her choosing, but after an uncle touched her and made her keep it a secret. Then, the secret is exposed and the truth spirals out of control, forcing a needlessly ashamed and frightened girl onto the streets.

These girls and boys don't choose to live on the streets or to be homeless. It is the sad truth that they feel safer there. What is equally troubling is that many Americans look at someone's being homeless as the result of a choice he or she made, or that it is a correctable condition because the United States is the land of so much opportunity.

There are numerous causes and effects of youth homelessness. Thirty percent of shelter youth and 70% of street youth are victims of commercial sexual exploitation at a time in their lives when these boys and girls should be going to elementary school.

These are just a few of the reasons why I do not believe America's homeless youth population is made up of kids who leave home because they want to. Most homeless kids are on the streets because they have been forced by circumstances to think that they are safer there than in the home they once knew. Others may have reached the end of their economic resources, or those of their family's, and are left trying to get out of poverty from the disadvantageous position of America's streets.

I experienced homelessness first-hand. When I was 15 years old, I received a vocal scholarship to attend Interlochen in Michigan. I always enjoyed performing solo, and one Spring Break I took a train and hitchhiked in Mexico, earning money singing on street corners. Many twists and turns later, I moved to San Diego and because of a series of unfortunate events, I ended up living in a car. My car was then stolen so I had to borrow $1,000 from a friend to buy a van which ended up becoming my home. Living in a van was not romantic. I washed my hair in public bathroom sinks. People would often gawk and make comments about me. They would say how sad it was that I was homeless, but many more tried to pretend that I wasn't there. I was mortified and embarrassed of my condition, using public bathrooms to bathe and the associated stigma. I can assure you that kids do not want to be on the streets or without people who care about them.

Some researchers estimate that about 1 to 1.6 million youth experience homelessness each year. The number of kids turned away from shelters every day as well as the number of phone calls made to the National Runaway Hotline indicate some estimates that may be even higher. Unfortunately, homeless kids are running from something and that makes them difficult to find or to count as part of any single community.

What is clear is that life in a shelter or on the streets puts homeless youth at a higher risk for physical and sexual assault, abuse, and physical illness, including HIV/AIDS. Estimates suggest that 5,000 unaccompanied youths die each year as a result of assault, illness, or suicide; That's an average of 13 kids dying every day on America's streets.

Anxiety disorders, depression, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and suicide are all more common among homeless children. Previous studies of the homeless youth population have shown high rates of parental alcohol or drug abuse. Substance abuse, however, is not a characteristic that defines most youth who experience homelessness.

Despite all of the setbacks faced by homeless kids, there is room to be optimistic. Most homeless children tend to make it to school, at least for a period of time. If safe shelters, counseling, and adequate support were available for these kids, and if our schools and our job training programs were stronger, these children would be given opportunities to graduate high school and build the skills they need to go on to live healthy and productive lives.

As I prepared to be here with you today, I learned Congress is taking steps in the right direction this year by increasing the level of federal support for homeless youth-related programs. I understand the House of Representatives is poised to pass a $10 million increase for Runaway and Homeless Youth Act programs and a $5 million increase for Education of Homeless Children and Youth programs. This anticipated funding increase is crucial. Support for shelters and transitional living and housing programs is necessary if we are going to change the landscape for homeless boys and girls in America.

Regrettably, I also understand funding for street outreach programs may not receive an increase in funding this year. What I know about street outreach is that it is essential to dealing with the issue of youth homelessness. We need people who work hard to find these kids and point them toward help, because we know they won't be looking for adults. Adults most likely contributed to their situation in the first place. When they do seek help from adults, the system, or a police officer, they are opening themselves up to being harmed, exploited, or arrested - again.

I am passionate about the work in this area by Virgin Mobile USA and its RE*Generation movement in supporting the homeless youth street outreach programs of StandUp For Kids and awareness building efforts by YouthNoise. The RE*Generation is also supported by Virgin Unite, the Virgin Group's charitable arm created by Sir Richard Branson. The fact is that businesses and organizations working together are crucial to the success of federal programs, and broader support in this area is desperately needed.

I would like to thank Congress for its help in raising awareness of issues surrounding homeless youth by introducing resolutions that designate November as "National Homeless Youth Awareness Month". I look forward to their passage so we can all make November a success by demonstrating to these forgotten youth that Congress is listening, people do want to help, and that people care about their futures.

Today is an opportunity to discuss important problems facing families and children across the country. As you begin examining ways to prevent youth homelessness, improve community-based intervention programs that support families and older adolescents, and assist youth aging out of foster care, it is my hope that your job becomes easier once the problem is absorbed into the consciousness of the American people. This country has to stop looking in the other direction on these most heart-wrenching and complex issues facing America's youth. Through greater awareness, people will view this as a problem with solutions. We all must work together to end youth homelessness in America.

I am pleased to be here today and I will do my best to answer any questions you may have. Thank you.