Public Policy Advocacy: Right to Rest -

Homeless Bill of Rights

One of Housing First Umpqua’s main focuses of public policy advocacy is getting a Homeless Bill of Rights, or Right to Rest Act, in the state of Oregon.

Good news!

We have the opportunity, right now, to make this happen!

The Right to Rest Act has been introduced in the Oregon Legislature and is set for a hearing in the House Judiciary Committee on April 13, 2021 at 1:00 pm. You can help make this bill become law. Below is some information to help you.

If you already support the Right to Rest Act, here is how you can provide testimony to the Judiciary Committee letting them know. You can provide written or remote live testimony.

Yes to the Right to Rest!

House Bill 2367

Here is a link to go directly to the place you need to provide written testimony to the Judiciary Committee for the hearing on March 9th.   

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Testimony/HJUD

Why Do We Need this Law?

Unfortunately such a law is needed to ensure that those who are most vulnerable, living rough outside, are protected from bad local public policies that continue to try to police homelessness away. What we know is that this strategy does not work.  

Current policies that focus on policing instead of solving homelessness harms our entire community. Public funds are drained by law enforcement and "clean-ups" that do not fix the problem and actually make it worse.  We waste countless taxpayer dollars, and other resources, chasing people around when enforcing local laws instead of providing safe ground with sanitation and resources that might actually help people escape homelessness.  

We all have an inalienable right to exist. When we don’t have a private place to be, one can only exist in public space. The Right to Rest Act will make that more clear to local jurisdictions by ensuring all Oregonians have the right to exist in public space without the threat of harassment, citation, or arrest.

What does this bill do?

This bill extends the privacy rights afforded to homeowners to homeless people, preventing the unlawful seizure and destruction of their possessions.

     -End the prosecution for "crimes” or “offenses” of survival, like sitting, lying down, or sleeping in public           space.

In order to protect them from discriminatory enforcement of laws that prevent rest, the Right to Rest Act would:

     -Prohibit law enforcement, security personnel, or public employees from harassing, citing, or arresting           homeless people for exercising the following rights:

          -To use and move freely in public spaces

          -To rest (sit, stand, and sleep)

          -To eat and share food

          -To occupy a legally parked vehicle

Stopping the criminalization of homeless people is essential to ending homelessness in our communities. As the courts have acknowledged, rest is an essential to life. Federal research confirms what many of us already know. The US Interagency Council on Homelessness has made it clear that a successful response to homelessess must include an end to criminalization, which includes giving tickets for violations of local ordinances.  

Housing First Umpqua (HFU) supports Oregon House Bill (HB) 2367 (Right to Rest Act) because it will protect the rights of people who are homeless and help solve one of the biggest barriers we have to get people off the streets: the criminalization of homelessness.  

We urge you to support this bill by submitting testimony (written or remote live) for the House Judiciary Committee hearing on March 9, 2021. We also urge you to take action to activate local supporters of the bill to help.     

HFU founders have been promoting a Homeless Bill of Rights, or Right to Rest Act, prior to joining together to create Housing First Umpqua. Although there have been such bills in the state legislature before, the last one in 2017 did not get anywhere. Due to efforts of Oregon House Representative Campos, Western Regional Advocacy Project, Oregon ACLU and Stop the Sweeps PDX, we have another opportunity again this year in House Bill (HB) 2367.

Even More Info:

Full Text of HB 2367

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Downloads/MeasureDocument/HB2367/Introduced

Oregon Legislature Overview HB 2367

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Measures/Overview/HB2367

Agenda for March 9th Judiciary Committee Hearing on HB 2367

https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2021R1/Committees/HJUD/2021-03-09-13-00/Agenda

Additional Resource:

Western Regional Advocacy Project info     

https://wraphome.org/what/homeless-bill-of-rights/oregon-r2r/