Hello Everyone!

Welcome to the second edition of the Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign Oregon newsletter. WRAP is a coalition of social justice, housing and anti-criminalization groups and allies, fight for the human rights to housing and an end to criminalization of people because they are poor and/or homeless. WRAP has core member groups in California, Colorado and Oregon -- find out more and support our work at www.wraphome.org

To find out more about what’s happening in Oregon Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign go, to https://www.facebook.com/HomelessBillOfRightsOregon/

Measure 4053 - Sweeps are Inhumane!

The Oregon State Legislature passed a bill that allows the city of Portland to enter into agreements with the Oregon Department of Transportation to do camp sweeps. Some land in Portland is managed by the city, some by the Oregon Department of Transportation, and each operates under a different legal settlement that resulted when the Oregon Law Center litigated on behalf of campers who were homeless.

On face value, the settlement with ODOT sets up a longer period of notification for homeless campers, but in practice, there’s a significant exception: When “no trespassing signs” are posted, ODOT is allowed to sweep homeless folks after 24 hours, the same as Portland. Read more about Measure 4053 and other legislation from Street Roots Executive Director, Kaia Sand here.

Fighting the Criminalization and Exclusion of Pedestrian Plazas

Pedestrian Plazas in Portland

Back in August 2017, Portland city council quietly adopted a new ordinance defining "Pedestrian Plazas" as places where public space can be treated as private property. Chapter 17.43 states, "Pedestrian plazas are places designated by the City of Portland as unique places where licensed businesses and pedestrians come together. They are not parks. Therefore, sitting or lying down is not allowed." Evidently, this is another move by the city to prioritize gentrification to the detriment of people's rights.

In 2009 a Judge ruled Portland's "Sidewalk Obstruction Ordinance" unconstitutional. In effort to avoid a repeat, language used in today's Pedestrian Plaza Ordinance treads carefully to avoid association with past laws creating no-sit zones. At first glance many of its rules appear recognizable as the same sort of conduct laws that apply in all public space.

However, with Pedestrian Plazas, detailed descriptions of prohibited activities give license to law enforcement to issue citations or exclusions at their own discretion. For example, the clause that prohibits "urination and defecation" uses language allows a Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) officer enough leeway so that they could cite a person merely for blowing their nose. The designation of Pedestrian Plazas in spaces around Portland codifies yet another way for the city to discriminate against people who are or appear to be unhoused.

Some highlights of the ordinance include statements such as:
• "The purpose of these rules is to preserve Pedestrian Plaza areas as defined by the Portland Bureau of Transportation for the enjoyment, safety, comfort, and convenience of the public and to enhance the orderly administration of the pedestrian plazas by prohibiting conduct that unreasonably interferes with the administration and lawful use of the Pedestrian Plazas."

• "Sitting or lying down is not allowed. Travel through pedestrian plazas should be unfettered, however, conduct incidental to travel, such as speech or expression, is allowed if it is performed in a reasonable amount of time that does not detract from the enjoyment of the plaza by all persons."

• "The discretionary judgment of PBOT, will promote the preservation of the pedestrian plaza for the peaceful enjoyment of the public at large."

Ankeny Plaza in Portland is the first known space in Portland to be designated as a Pedestrian Plaza, however numerous other blocks and areas throughout the city are subject to similar law enforcement by being designated "Pedestrian Zones." The Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign will not stand for this latest reincarnation of no-sit zones.

Join the Poor People’s Campaign and 40 days
of Action in Oregon!

The Poor People's Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is bringing together people across the country who are organizing to build a broad and deep national moral movement-led by the poor, impacted, clergy and moral agents and reflecting the great moral teachings-to unite our country from the bottom up. In the Spring of 2018, the Campaign will launch with 40 days of moral action, from May 13th until June 21st, in at least 35 states and Washington D.C. Oregon is one of those states! By engaging in coordinated and collective nonviolent civil disobedience and direct action across the nation, we will confront the enmeshed and inseparable evils of systemic racism and other forms of discrimination, poverty, the war economy, and ecological devastation; begin to shift the distorted moral narrative of our nation; advance common demands for transformative change; and build power to continue this fight long after June 2018.

We will have 30 days of training and a train-the-trainer training in Nonviolent Moral Direct Action starting Saturday, April 14th in Salem, Oregon. To find out more and to sign the pledge form, go to , https://poorpeoplescampaign.org/. To find out more about what’s happening in Oregon go, to www.facebook.com/oregonppc.

Douglas County group passes Housing as a Human Right Declaration

In 2017 WRAP was invited to speak in Douglas County and so we did! We met lots of folks, all wanting to learn more, most fighting against criminalization and for affordable housing for their communities. Afterall, we all know what ends homelessness - a home! We are proud and grateful that WRAP’s research, artwork
and street outreach are tools that all these communities can use in this fight and to
connect us all together.

This in from Betsy and the organizers of this great work: If you want Oregon to pass a Homeless Bill of Rights, and you are a registered Democrat, contact the Democratic Party leadership in your county and let them know. Ask them to pass, the Resolution that the Democratic Party of Douglas County just did.

If you happen to be a delegate to the Democratic Party of Oregon Platform Convention that is coming up the weekend of March 16-18th, you can help by voting to make a Homeless Bill of Rights a legislative priority for the party in 2019 Note: Your local Democratic Party Central Committee is made up of elected representatives called Precinct Committee Person (PCP). Depending on where you live, you could have 2 or more. Information about who they are & how to contact them can be found at your local county clerk's office, elections division. If you belong to any other political party or other political organization, they too can pass such a resolution and take action to get a Homeless Bill of Rights passed in our next legislative session. Anyone with any questions about this process, please contact cea2day@gmail.com.

RESOLUTION OF THE DOUGLAS COUNTY CENTRAL COMMITTEE, OREGON

In Support of Housing as a Human Right; Resolution No. DC2018-001
Whereas many persons in Douglas County and Oregon are underhoused and experiencing lack of access to affordable
housing; and
Whereas many have experienced homelessness through economic hardship, a shortage of safe and affordable housing, the inability to obtain gainful employment, and a disintegrating social safety net system; and
Whereas government fees and regulation limit the ability to develop affordable housing for everyone; and Whereas the lack of decent safe affordable housing is the primary reason for homelessness; and
Whereas many jurisdictions, like Douglas County, do not have temporary shelter for people, forcing them to live outside with no place else to go; and
Whereas laws that penalize or criminalize basic acts of living (sitting, sleeping, eating, and using the restroom) do not address the problems of homelessness or the problems caused by homelessness and waste limited public resources in enforcement, creating more barriers for those individuals to find housing; and
Whereas decriminalization of rest and other acts of living allows local governments to redirect resources from local law enforcement activities to activities that address the root causes of homelessness and poverty; and
Whereas, according to the US Department of Justice, such laws may violate the constitutional rights of those who are homeless; Therefore, We, the Democratic Central Committee of Douglas County, Oregon, resolve as follows:
We believe that housing is a human right and being without a place to live is not a crime and we support the following:

• Establishing a statewide housing policy recognizing housing as a basic human right and making development of decent safe income based affordable housing a state priority.

• Reduction of barriers to the development of housing, including limiting fees and regulations that prevent the development of affordable housing.

• Decriminalization of homelessness and full civil rights protection for those experiencing homelessness.

• Public policy for Douglas County and Oregon guaranteeing persons experiencing homelessness full participation in social and economic life, access to remunerative employment, use of and free movement within public spaces, participation in and receipt of the benefits of services, programs and activities of state government and local governments and housing accommodations of the person’s choice, without discrimination.

• Adoption of an Oregon Homeless Bill of Rights or Right to Rest Act.

• Repeal of local laws by all jurisdictions in Douglas County that criminalize homelessness and the homeless putting a moratorium on their enforcement until such repeal takes place.
Resolution submitted by Betsy Cunningham and approved by the Platform and Resolutions Committee on 2/12/18, reviewed by the Executive Committee on 2/15/18.
Recommendation of the Platform and Resolutions Committee: Endorse with Action; (1) 2018 State Platform changes to Article 6 preamble, (2) replacement of Plank 8 and (3) addition of a new plank to Article 9 regarding decriminalization of homelessness.

APPROVED by the Douglas County Central Committee and ADOPTED by the Democratic Party of Douglas County on _22nd_ day of __February 2018__