July 06, 2021

Manchin: West Virginia Eligible For Second Round of American Rescue Plan Funding To Identify and Support Students Experiencing Homelessness

Charleston, WV – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced that applications open today for the second round of funding from the $800 million included in the American Rescue Plan to help schools identify and support students experiencing homelessness. In April, Senator Manchin announced West Virginia received $1,246,924 in the first round of funding. West Virginia is eligible to receive another $3,743,199 in this second round of funding.
 
“Every child deserves to have a warm place to sleep and a roof over their head every night. But for 1.5 million children across America and over 10,000 children in West Virginia, that is not the case. The COVID-19 pandemic made this heartbreaking and dire issue much worse for many of our families and children in need. Since the pandemic kept most students at home, schools have struggled to track students experiencing homelessness,” said Senator Manchin. “This second round of funding – part of the $800 million I successfully fought to include in the American Rescue Plan – will help schools identify students experiencing homelessness and provide support for these vulnerable students. West Virginia can begin applying for the second round of funding today in order to get the funds directly to school districts before the new school year so students experiencing homelessness can receive the support they need.”
 
In the United States, over 1.5 million children and youth are currently experiencing homelessness. In West Virginia alone there are over 10,000 children and youth currently experiencing homelessness. The COVID-19 pandemic has compounded this issue with high unemployment, unstable living conditions, and job insecurity, resulting in higher rates of homelessness in children, youth and families.
 
Senator Manchin’s efforts to secure $800 million in the American Rescue Plan for students experiencing homelessness:
  •        April 23, 2021: Senator Manchin participated in a roundtable with Department of Education Secretary Cardona, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and students from around the country, including a student from West Virginia, to discuss the students’ own experiences with homelessness. Senator Manchin also announced that West Virginia will receive $1,246,924 in the first round of funding.
  •        April 13, 2021: Senator Manchin led five bipartisan Senators in urging U.S. Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to implement the $800 million fund included in the American Rescue Plan to support children and youth experiencing homelessness and to help schools identify and assist students experiencing homelessness due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
  •        March 6, 2021: The Senate unanimously passed Senator Manchin’s bipartisan amendment to include $800 million in the American Rescue Plan to support students currently experiencing homelessness.
  •        February 9, 2021: Senator Manchin introduced the bipartisan Emergency Family Stabilization Act to create a new emergency funding stream to provide flexible funding for community-based organizations working to meet the unique and challenging needs of children, youth, and families experiencing homelessness.
 
A timeline of Senator Manchin’s efforts to address children and youth homelessness can be found here.