The April 9 public hearing on LD 218, which requires the Department of Human Services to establish homeless youth programs to provide services to youth who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless and their families, brought much attention and concern to the committee and the public. Testimonies in support of the bill were moving and touching to everyone in the room.

According to the research on homelessness in Maine in 1999, 38 shelters in the state serve about 450 citizens each night including about 135 youth. Thirty percent of the shelter population is youth; the average of the youth is 13.

As a Maine School of Social Work student of the University of Maine, I am concerned with how this bill helps homeless youth in Maine, and improves youth programs throughout the state. That is why I am in favor of LD 218: An Act to Ensure Statewide Assistance to Maine’s Homeless Youth.

LD 218 would provide the pilot program to homeless youth in urban areas as well as in rural areas in Maine. LD 218 would provide statewide services to youth and their families in terms of partnerships of public, private and community based organization.

If LD 218 becomes a law, not only homeless youth will be helped but also their families and youth at risk of becoming homeless. Even though the economy improves, the number of homelessness is increasing every year. Providing services for homeless youth may be one of the solutions to prevent homelessness in the future. That is the reason I support LD 218.

Mi Young Yoo

Orono