Oregon Right To Rest

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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

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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

Oregon Right To Rest

Oregon Right to Rest Act Endorsement

RIGHT to REST ACT FACTSHEET

Organization Sample Letter to House Committee on Housing-Homelessness

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

OR House Committee; Housing & Homelessness Contacts

Right 2 Rest Lobbying Guide

HISTORY

Research

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Oregon Right to Rest Act Endorsement

RIGHT to REST ACT FACTSHEET

Organization Sample Letter to House Committee on Housing-Homelessness

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

OR House Committee; Housing & Homelessness Contacts

Right 2 Rest Lobbying Guide

HISTORY

Research

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