{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://duffy.house.gov/media-center/enewsletters/want-to-make-sure-youre-aware-of-this", "want to make sure you're aware of this", "2013-12-15", "2013", "2013-12", "Republican", "House", "WI", "Sean Duffy", "D000614", "duffy.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "During this season of family gatherings and gift giving, it is sometimes easy to forget about the people in our own community who do not have a home to gather in, or the means to prepare a holiday meal. Often when we think of hunger and homelessness we imagine urban, high population centers like Madison or Milwaukee, but it is a very\u00a0prevalent problem in rural communities across America and the 7th Congressional District is no exception.\u00a0 \u00a0 According to the Wisconsin Food Security Project, 13.5% of all households in the 7th\u00a0CD experienced food hardships, meaning they did not have enough money to buy the food they needed at times during the past year. Additionally, over 2,000 individuals received\u00a0documented\u00a0care from shelters. Most concerning, these numbers have been trending upward in Wisconsin in recent years despite a decline nationally. The increase in families suffering from hunger and homelessness requires us to no longer simply manage the problem, but to solve the problem. This shift to what has been termed the \u201cNew Approach\u201d has produced results elsewhere and is catching on nation-wide. We see it here in our own backyard through the tireless work and dedication from organizations like the Marathon County Housing & Homelessness Coalition and the Marathon County Hunger Coalition. In addition to bringing more partners to the table through coalition building, this \u201cNew Approach\u201d also advances a more systemic strategy with individuals and organizations \u2013 both public and private \u2013 working in a coordinated manner. Not only is this \u201cNew Approach\u201d more efficient and a big step forward from the previous practice of serving people somewhat haphazardly through a collection of disconnected programs, the numbers also show it is working. Recent data show that the number of chronically homeless declined by 30% between 2005 and 2007 and has declined an additional 13% since. Overall, homelessness declined nation-wide by 9.2% between 2007 and 2013. This \u201cNew Approach,\u201d also termed \u201chousing-first,\u201d efficiently reduces homelessness and improves the lives of no-longer-homeless individuals and families and the quality of our communities. Furthermore, it often brings net savings to taxpayers since preventing homelessness is less expensive than the cycle of emergency services that can be the daily existence of homeless individuals and families. Before communities can fully engage in this \u201cNew Approach,\u201d however, its members need to fully understand the extent of the suffering, its root causes, and develop empathy for the individuals and families suffering from hunger and homelessness. This Wednesday, December 18, leaders from communities across the 7th\u00a0CD are gathering in Wausau to learn about hunger and homelessness and its impacts on our communities, what different communities and coalitions are doing to address these problems, and to brainstorm and share ideas on how we can continue to work to solve these problems. We look forward to the summit, the various presentations, and the discussions on Wednesday. Rep. Sean Duffy co-wrote this piece with Steve Berg, Vice-President for Programs and Policy at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. It appeared in the Sunday, December 15, 2013 edition of\u00a0The Wausau Daily Herald.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["http://duffy.house.gov/media-center/enewsletters/want-to-make-sure-youre-aware-of-this"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4369601849466562, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}