By Sierra Jackson

During Committee three, delegate Sangmin Yi,of Cedar Park High School,12, presented a bill declaring the homeless shelters that were currently being run publicly and privately to be reformed into a center where they will be able to learn basic and/or advanced skills used to achieve employment and rehabilitation. The bill was passed 10:0.

“I saw that if you just keep it as homeless shelters, the cycle is going to keep continuing where people are going get off their feet and try to become independent again, only to fall back into poverty because they don’t have the right skills or environment,” Yi said.

Yi argued, “by changing homeless shelters to homeless rehabilitation centers, it can provide them with an environment where they can join back the economy and society.”  

Additionally, Yi added that adding a rehabilitation component to homeless shelters would eventually “boost the economy because businesses can make donations to these centers and they will get first choice of picking people to work for their business.”

Although the bill was voted in unanimously, there was an amendment added. The amendment states that private shelters should not be included to this bill because they do not receive federal funding. The amendment was passed with a 9:0 ratio.