LAS VEGAS—Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (D-Nev.) was in her district today, visiting the “Safe Place” drop-in center of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and talking about her Reconnecting Youth to Prevent Homelessness Act.

The legislation, which Berkley introduced last November, would extend the safety net for youths age 16-24 to prevent homelessness and help young men and women with education, employment opportunities, healthcare and other needs.

“Homelessness in this country is a huge problem and homeless youth is an even more challenging one,” Berkley said. “The reality is that we have a foster program that you ‘age out’ at the age of 18.  My kids could no sooner be on their own at the age of 18 than the man on the moon.”

“For a lot of our foster kids that age out of the program, they lose any support that they might have had and they’re told ‘you’re 18, you’re now emancipated, go out, there’s the world.’  How do you do that when you have a limited education, you’ve got no support system, you have no family to fall back on and you have no health care?  I think we have an obligation to make sure that these kids get the support that they need so they can go on and lead productive lives.”

Berkley’s legislation would expand eligibility for foster care, kinship and adoption assistance to youths through the age of 20, amend TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) to improve access for teen parents, increase funding for the Chafee Foster Care Independence Program, expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to provide incentives for hiring homeless youth, and require states to work with families and housing authorities to secure permanent housing for families with minor children.

Berkley described the legislation as “a helping hand, not a hand out,” to help youths get through difficult transitional periods.

“Let us not take one child for granted and let us not leave one kid on the street,” said Berkley.

With Berkley’s party in the majority and her position on the powerful Ways and Means Committee, her legislation has better-than-average chances of becoming law.  She expects Ways and Means Chairman Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) to support the legislation as well as Income Security and Family Support Subcommittee Chairman Jim McDermott (D-Wash.).  She also plans to seek co-sponsorship from the rest of Nevada’s congressional delegation.

“I’m a little disappointed that they haven’t signed on already without prompting,” said Berkley.  “But prompting they will get.”

Click here to read Berkley’s letter to colleagues asking for their co-sponsorship.

Berkley admitted that the legislation would result in some new state mandates without funding, but said that “in the long run, it will save millions of taxpayer dollars.”

“[The legislation will] improve quality of life of the children who find themselves homeless and add to the talent and the opportunity to tap into an entire talent pool in our nation.  So, I think the cost is very low in comparison to the benefits of the bill.”

The NPHY drop-in center has been in operation since 2001 at 4800 S. Maryland Pkwy.  It is funded 60/40 by private funds and government subsidies.  According to director Kathleen Boutin, it receives $200,000 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, $300,000 from the State of Nevada and $100,000 from Clark County annually.

Callyce Carroll, 20, first came to the NPHY at the age of seventeen and credits the center with turning his life around.  He recently passed a firefighters’ entrance exam and is looking forward to getting out on his own.

“I first became homeless because my parents lost their house,” said Carroll.  “That was four or five years ago.  For a while I was couch surfing, sleeping from friend’s house to friend’s house.  From there I went to the streets.  I slept in parks and backyards all around.”

“Usually when someone offers something they want something in return, especially in the position I was in.  I came here and they helped me out.  They gave me an apartment and we went over some goals, made a plan, and then took it step by step.”

With Nevada’s worst-in-the-nation foreclosure crisis, Carroll’s story is one that may become more common in the near future, a point that Berkley also addressed.

“Southern Nevada has been hit hard by the foreclosure crisis that has been sweeping our nation and that has definitely contributed to the number of Valley residents who are now homeless,” said Berkley.  “We need to not only help homeowners avoid foreclosure, but Congress should also provide additional resources to help States like Nevada and communities like Las Vegas address the issue of homelessness, including programs that target aid to youth age 16-24.”