Advocacy
At Bill Wilson Center, we believe in engaging with our communities and elected officials to support systems change that ends youth and young adult homelessness, and improves equity and justice for youth and families.
In order to achieve this goal, we want to engage our community of volunteers, partners, donors, clients and stakeholders in raising our collective voice to make change. Below is a list of our current top policy priorities, as well as links with additional information and resources.
We hope you will join us and take action to make change in our communities.
The legislative session has ended in Sacramento and the Governor has finished signing all the Bills that made it to his desk. See below for an update on the legislation we supported this year.
Advocacy Opportunities at the State Level
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This bill would establish a Supervised Independent Living Placement (SILP) housing supplemental payment to augment the basic SILP monthly rate, based on the cost of housing in their county of residence.
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This bill removes barriers to maintaining financial aid for students struggling academically by creating a common set of SAP (satisfactory academic progress) standards, remove additional requirements that are more restrictive than those federally mandated, and ensures students have clear pathways to regain financial aid.
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This bill seeks to provide necessary intervention, increase accessibility to resources and provide valuable education and training services to protect our youth from fentanyl poisoning and overdoses.
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This bill establishes the Fostering Futures Program, which will cover 100% of remaining unmet need after other federal, state and institutional aid for students pursuing an associate degree, transfer pathway or certificate at a community college, or a bachelor’s degree at a CSU or UC.
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This bill requires resource families to demonstrate an understanding of the unique needs of LGBTQ+ and gender-expansive youth, and the capacity and willingness to meet those needs.
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This bill would establish the California Success, Opportunity, and Academic Resilience (SOAR) Guaranteed Income Program, which would provide direct cash assistance payments of $1,000 monthly to approximately 15,000 homeless high school seniors in California.
FEDERAL
We have met with our members of Congress to advocate for the following appropriations:
- Reauthorizing the Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, and make $300m in FY24 appropriations
- Appropriating $800m for the Education for Homeless Children and Youth program
- Appropriating $100m for the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program
- Appropriating $300m for the Emergency Solutions Grant program in FY24
These programs and funding sources have a direct impact in our region, and in communities throughout the United States.
For more information about these policy and funding requests, visit our partner, the National Network for Youth.
How to Take Action
To make change locally, speak during public comment at your local City Council meeting or during the Board of Supervisors meeting. Click here for tips on giving public comment during a City or County meeting.
To make change at the state level, call or email your representative. Click here to find your California State Senate and Assembly representatives.
To support change at the federal level, call or email your elected official. Click here to find your members of Congress.
For more information about how to support our policy work, please contact Josh Selo, Chief Executive Officer, at jselo@billwilsoncenter.org or 408-850-6139
