• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
WRAP

WRAP

Western Regional Advocacy Project

  • Donate Now
  • Get Email Updates
  • Contact Us
  • Home
  • About
    • 20 Years of Unhoused People Fighting for Dignity + Respect
    • 40 Years of Fighting
    • History
    • Mission
    • Strategy
    • Members
    • Board / Staff
  • Campaigns
    • Business Improvement Districts
    • House Keys Not Sweeps
      • TARGETED, BANISHED, DISPLACED & SWEPT
    • Legal Defense Clinics Project
    • Homeless Bill of Rights
    • Without Housing
    • Street Outreach
  • Organizing Tools
    • Without Housing Organizing Toolkit
    • Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign Manual
    • WRAP Organizers Manual
    • WRAP Artwork
  • Resources
    • Pipe Dreams and Picket Fences Report
    • Art in Action Power Point Slide Show
    • Hobos to Street People
    • House Keys Book
    • Political Education
    • Legal Research
  • Media
    • Newsletters
    • Blog
    • Hobos to Street People Art Show
    • Street Newspapers
    • Sweeps Gallery Videos
    • Videos
  • Support Us
    • Donate
    • Become a Monthly Sustainer
    • Volunteer
    • Support WRAP
    • WRAP Newsletters & Updates Sign Up

Oregon Right To Rest


  • THE BILL
  • ENDORSMENT FORM
  • FACTSHEET
  • CONTACT THE COMMITTEE
  • HEARING

Poor and unhoused people are most often prosecuted for “crimes of survival,” like sitting, lying down, or sleeping in public space. As people accrue charges, it becomes virtually impossible for them to access essential resources.

Criminalization directly blocks pathways to stability and further endangers the physical and mental health of our most vulnerable community members.

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

Prevent the unlawful seizure and destruction of unhoused people’s possessions.

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

To occupy and move freely in public spaces
To rest (sit, stand, and sleep)
To eat and share food
To occupy a legally parked vehicle

Provide a defense to civil and criminal charges when the basis for those charges is that the person was merely engaging in the protected activities listed above.

Create an exception for public spaces that are closed, as long as adequate alternate spaces are provided for people to rest without time limitations.

For more information contact us wrap@wraphome.org

READ THE BILL

Oregon Right to Rest Act Endorsement

Rest is essential to everyone’s health, well-being, and ability to function. Laws criminalizing rest not only exacerbate and causes physical and mental health issues, they are a human and civil rights violation. Decriminalizing rest must be our first step toward truly supporting our neighbors without housing.

Endorse the Right to Rest Act

RIGHT to REST ACT FACTSHEET

The criminalization of homelessness harms our entire community: public funds are drained by “clean-up” initiatives that ultimately work to further entrench people into poverty. This bill would ensure that all Oregonians have the right to exist in public space.

READ FACTSHEET

Organization Sample Letter to House Committee on Housing-Homelessness

Here is a sample letter/email format to send to the Chair and other members of the House Committee on Housing and Homelessness. This is set out for email, but you can use the link here to access info about how to contact each via their Salem mail address. You can also call them.

Organization Sample Letter to Oregon

Email Template, Seeking Legislator Support for HB 3501 & HB 3503

I’m a [constituent of yours, Oregonian].  I probably don’t have to tell you how unaffordable housing is and how bad the homelessness crisis is in our state. It’s all over the news and even the Governor has talked about the severity of the problem.

Email Template – Legislator Support Ask

OR House Committee; Housing & Homelessness Contacts

Housing & Homelessness Contacts

Right 2 Rest Lobbying Guide

We get people involved with our effort to personally contact state legislators and the governor to get the Oregon Right to Rest Act passed. For our purposes, this includes endorsing organizations. We need everyone to be doing some of this.  

People’s Lobbying 4 Right2Rest
HB 3501 Hearing Thursday May 4th at 8amDownload

Attend online here (video will not show until hearing date): tinyurl.com/r2rlivestream

Register for live testimony here: tinyurl.com/r2rtestify

Submit written testimony here: tinyurl.com/r2rwrittentestimony

Learn more and/or join the campaign at: R2RAct.com #right2rest  

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Ut elit tellus, luctus nec ullamcorper mattis, pulvinar dapibus leo.

The Right to Rest Act is a bill calling to allow unhoused people to rest, eat and congregate in public without being criminalized. Made by youth directly affected by these issues.
For more Outside the Frame films visit otfpdx.org

HISTORY

The Oregon Statewide Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign is one part of 3 statewide campaigns in California, Colorado and Oregon. The Homeless Bill of Rights is a grassroots organizing campaign fighting to end the criminalization of poor and homeless people’s existence. The campaign strives to ensure that all people have the basic right to live where they choose without fear of harassment and criminalization at the hands of the police. This campaign is a way of working collectively with groups possessing different talents to address the many injustices that we face in our communities. We are building the power to create a social justice movement that will create a society where we can all thrive.

Research 

April 5, 2017 – Oregon cities and counties are making it a crime for people to be homeless. Our new report, Decriminalizing Homelessness: Why Right to Rest Legislation is the High Road for Oregon, shows that basic acts of survival are being criminalized all across the state. 

Our research found that Oregon’s most populous cities and counties have 224 laws that criminalize necessary life-sustaining activities like sitting, lying, resting, or eating in public. When someone has nowhere else to do these things, fines, fees, and a criminal record only further entrenches them in homelessness. Oregonians living on the street are forced make impossible choices to go about their daily lives.

DECRIMINALIZING HOMELESSNESS:
WHY RIGHT TO REST LEGISLATION IS
THE HIGH ROAD FOR OREGON

Footer

Instagram Feed

The roots of Neoliberal Fascism in America today, The roots of Neoliberal Fascism in America today, and what we can do about it! We could write a whole article on the shit storm that has hit at the federal level and then reel off reactionary oppressive measures that local and state governments are imposing in response to the massive numbers of people they know damn well are going to be dying, suffering, hurting, living in the streets — and be mad as hell. https://conta.cc/4iWZe2j
Instagram post 18049351151095766 Instagram post 18049351151095766
Instagram post 18498041989022625 Instagram post 18498041989022625
Signs-on for a letter to support the SF Public Def Signs-on for a letter to support the SF Public Defender’s budget this year to address the systemic underfunding of our office compared to the rest of the criminal legal system, and to address the increasing high and unmanageable caseloads that our attorneys are facing. https://wraphome.org/2025/04/30/san-francisco-ca-sign-on-in-support-of-parity-for-the-sf-public-defenders-office/
Over the last few months, we’ve witnessed an ava Over the last few months, we’ve witnessed an avalanche of federal efforts to dismantle housing, healthcare, education, racial justice, environment, food assistance, and myriad other programs. Read More https://conta.cc/431XgJ2
A National Call To Action for April 22nd …and ev A National Call To Action for April 22nd …and every day thereafter!!! https://wraphome.org/2025/04/16/a-national-call-to-action-for-april-22nd-and-every-day-thereafter/
A National Call To Action for April 22nd …and ev A National Call To Action for April 22nd …and every day thereafter!!! https://wraphome.org/2025/04/16/a-national-call-to-action-for-april-22nd-and-every-day-thereafter/
A National Call To Action for April 22nd …and ev A National Call To Action for April 22nd …and every day - Communities across the country are gathering with teach in’s, art builds, Ice Cream, music and art to celebrate our creativity and intelligence and to band together learn from each other, make new friends and build power to fight back... thereafter!!! https://conta.cc/42hEo8T
“Since the city began increasing enforcement las “Since the city began increasing enforcement last summer, San Francisco police officers have made 756 illegal lodging arrests, which is more than the prior six years combined. Last month, the city recorded 119 such arrests — the highest of any month in the last seven years.”
CALL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL ENDORSERS & VOLUNTEERS! H CALL FOR ORGANIZATIONAL ENDORSERS & VOLUNTEERS! 
Help us spread the word and come help out for the bay area wide teach in commemorating the Supreme Court hearings of the Johnson Vs Grants Pass case where the supreme courts ruled it is NOT cruel and unusual punishment to subject people to criminal penalties for sleeping outside if they have nowhere else to go. We must continue to come together and fight back against this historical tactic of displacing and criminalizing our people! 
WHAT: Teach in on how to build community power 
WHERE: Lake Merritt Amphitheater 
WHEN: Tuesday, April 22 
TIME : 1-4 pm 
RSVP form : https://bit.ly/422bayareateachin (Endorse and volunteer here!)
We ask endorsers to share our teach-in information to their networks and we will also add endorser logos to the flyers! 
Volunteer roles 
-Security 
-Sign in 
-Distribution of water & snacks 
-Pass out hand outs 
-Support for painting 
DM westernregionaladvocacyproject us or contact wrap@wraphome.org with any questions! 
#Grantspass #BayArea #SweepsKill
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Facebook Icon

Facebook Feed

Comments Box SVG iconsUsed for the like, share, comment, and reaction icons
Link thumbnail

Berkeley homeless encampment spurs neighborhood outrage: ‘Actual humanitarian crisis’

www.sfchronicle.com

An encampment at a Berkeley park has frustrated city residents. A sweep is planned, but there seem to be few options for housing the homeles...
1 day ago
View on Facebook
· Share
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on Linked In Share by Email
View Comments
  • likes 1
  • Shares: 0
  • Comments: 0

0 CommentsComment on Facebook

Twitter Icon

Twitter Feed

Twitter feed is not available at the moment.

YouTube icon

Youtube Code

Our Channel

Copyright © 2025 Western Regional Advocacy Project WRAP · Log in