LOS ANGELES—Homeless advocates in Los Angeles helped launch a statewide campaign on October 5 to get California to adopt a bill of rights for the homeless.
Citing efforts by local governments to use laws and business improvement districts to target the homeless and mold poorer neighborhoods in the interests of businesses and the wealthy, advocates say a state law is necessary to protect the basic rights of homeless citizens.
“Here in Los Angeles, and cities across this state, laws have been passed to criminalize the fact of being poor and homeless,” said Adam Rice, an organizer for the Los Angeles Community Action Network. “The Homeless Bill of Rights has five basic protections that allow for a minimum standard of living even though you are on the street.”
According to advocates, the Homeless Bill of Rights would ensure the right to:
● Move freely, rest, sleep, pray and be protected in public spaces without discrimination.
● Occupy a legally parked vehicle that is one’s home.
● Serve food to the homeless and eat in public.
● Legal counsel if being prosecuted.
● Twenty-four-hour access to hygiene facilities.
Rice cited Los Angeles Municipal Code section 41.18 (d), which prohibits a person from sitting, lying or sleeping in a public space from the hours of 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., as an example of a law written specifically to target the homeless.
“In Los Angeles, if you are arrested for being homeless, it is called a ‘quality of life violation,’” he said. “Now how insulting is that? Because they are not talking about our quality of life. They are talking about the quality of life of some imagined person that may see us on the street in our most vulnerable position and decide that perhaps downtown LA is not a good place to invest their money.”
According to Paul Boden, director of the Western Regional Advocacy Project, the top three criminal offenses the homeless are committing are sleeping, sitting and standing still. He said laws that cover “quality of life” issues, such as LA’s 41.18 (d) are thinly disguised codes that mirror previous discriminatory practices of local governments, such as anti-Okie laws, sundown towns and ugly laws, which targeted the homeless and disabled.
“Local governments have the authority to police ‘time, place and manner restrictions’ in local communities,” he said. “The track record of using those laws in a discriminatory pattern is undeniable. We are trying to push legislation to say you’ve abused it, you’ve done it in racist and discriminatory ways, so we are taking that authority away from you.”
This is California’s second attempt at a Homeless Bill of Rights, but Boden is hopeful in organizing, what he calls, “the incredible power” of the poor and homeless.
“The thing with homelessness is: what do we have to lose?” he said. “Your ability to stand by your principles and what is right should be ten times greater.
“And, if you don’t fight,” he adds, “you’re going to be out of your neighborhood. Bottom line.”
I was made homeless by wrongful termination from digital domain studios in venice beach California. I heard about a homeless bill of rights but it seems that has not actually passed?
I live in Tampa. I seen our city council members target people trying to help feed the homeless and pass laws make hard for them to ask for donation on street corners. there other laws passed that I not aware of but it seems all the time on news how there passing yet another law to harass the homeless. The shelters have tough rules as to when you must be in them by certain times. if your working during day a time of 6:00 pm to be in the shelter means you be sleeping out side. another laws being pass is no tents and now you can not sleep in public with a blanket or sheet law. that means they freeze to death. The reason Florida has high population of homeless is year round it has nice weather. you don’t want be homeless in Chicago or Detroit in the winter if you migrate to Florida where it is above freezing in the winter. just make sense if you think about it . help stop the homeless be target of citys to push them somewhere else instead of provide support they terrorize the homeless leave there city.