Vermont Witnesses To Be Joined By Oscar-Nominated Actor At Hearing Before Leahy Panel
Djimon Hounsou To Discuss Runaway And Homeless Youths
WASHINGTON (Thursday, April 25, 2008) – Two-time Academy Award nominee Djimon Hounsou will join representatives from Vermont in testifying before the Senate Judiciary Committee at a hearing to identify and explore solutions to address rising numbers of runaway and homeless youths, Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) announced today.
Leahy invited Hounsou to offer testimony before the Senate panel and to share his firsthand experience with youth homelessness. He will bring his personal insight about how the issue affects the nation’s youth.
The Academy Award nominee will be joined by expert witnesses from Spectrum Youth and Family Services, a Vermont-based non-profit agency founded in 1970 to assist Vermont youth and families. A representative from Covenant House Pennsylvania, an outreach center that works with street youth, will also testify at the hearing. The Committee will also hear from Victoria Wagner, the chief executive officer for the National Network for Youth, a national advocacy organization for runaway and homeless youth based in Washington, D.C.
The April 29 hearing, “Living on the Street: Finding Solutions to Protect Runaway and Homeless Youth,” will launch Leahy’s efforts to reauthorize the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act. Leahy is expected to introduce reauthorization language in the coming weeks.
The hearing will be held Tuesday, April 29, at 10 a.m. in Room 226 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, in Washington. Non-credentialed members of the press should contact the Senate Press Galleries for information on how to attend the hearing.
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NOTICE OF COMMITTEE HEARING
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary has scheduled a hearing on “Living on the Street: Finding Solutions to Protect Runaway and Homeless Youth” for Tuesday, April 29, 2008 at 10:00 a.m. in Room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building.
By order of the Chairman
Witness List
Djimon Hounsou
Actor and Advocate
Los Angeles, California
Mark Redmond
Executive Director
Spectrum Youth and Family Services
Burlington, Vermont
Michael Hutchins
Residential Manager
Spectrum Youth and Family Services
Burlington, Vermont
Victoria A. Wagner
Chief Executive Officer
National Network for Youth
Washington, DC
Jerome Kilbane
Executive Director
Covenant House
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
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Press Contact
David Carle: 202-224-3693Next Article Previous Article
