January 21, 2019

Duckworth Honors Dr. King’s Legacy of Service by Volunteering at Rockford Rescue Mission

Senator continues personal commitment to service by serving meals at Rockford Rescue Mission

 

[ROCKFORD, IL] — In keeping with the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., Day, U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) volunteered to serve lunches at the Rockford Rescue Mission today. The Senator, who has made community service a hallmark of her public life and has consistently volunteered to improve her community, spent time serving meals during the mission’s lunch service. Duckworth also hosted a roundtable discussion with community leaders in Rockford who worked to become the first city in the country to end Veteran homelessness.  Photos from today’s events are available here.

“I’m impressed by the work Rockford has done to help end Veteran homelessness and continues to do to end homelessness for all, and hope it can serve as a model for the rest of the nation” Duckworth said. “We are all dishonored when any Veteran is forced to lay their head down on the very streets they signed up to defend. I will keep doing what I can to make sure we end the cycle of homelessness in Illinois and throughout the country.”

Duckworth met with representatives from Rockford Rescue Mission, Winnebago County Health Department, Youth Services Network, Carpenter’s Place and Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara to discuss the city’s work in ending Veteran homelessness and goals to end all homelessness by 2020.

As a champion for civilian national service in Congress, Duckworth introduced the 21st Century American Service Act in 2018, legislation that would help make sure every young American who wants to dedicate a year to national service has the opportunity to do so by increasing the number of service positions available through civilian national service organizations, educating all young Americans about the national service opportunities available to them and reducing financial barriers that prohibit some young Americans from serving.

When Duckworth served as Assistant Secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), she coordinated the VA’s joint initiative with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to end homelessness among Veterans. In 2016, HUD released data showing the rate of homelessness among Veterans has fallen nearly 50 percent since 2010.

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