Below are some ways to take action and help end poverty and homelessness.

Join Sisters and the AMA in a Struggle for Justice

The Albina Ministerial Alliance Coalition for Justice and Police Reform is meeting this Thursday to Stop Police Violence and Bring Justice for Aaron Campbell!

Sisters is now part of this coalition and looks forward to seeing you at the next AMA meeting -

Allen Temple
4236 NE 8th (at Skidmore)
Thursday, March 11, 2010 5:00pm - please note time change

The Albina Ministerial Alliance’s Coalition For Justice and Police Reform seeks to reform Portland Police Bureau by demanding:

• greater accountability for excessive force taken by officers
• and expanded powers for the Independent Police Review Commission to conduct investigations into police use-of-force cases.

We encourage you to join us!

Get updates and follow the coalition here or on Facebook.

Recent Actions

WRAP Action January 20, 2010 -
Homelessness Ends With A Home!

Sisters Of The Road, as a founding member of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) (WRAP), participated in an affordable housing and civil rights mass action January 20th at the Federal Building in San Francisco.

For more information, including a full list of WRAP’s demands, visit our Homelessness Ends With A Home web page. 

Thanks for Voting YES on Measures 66 and 67!

Please read this article from The Nation about the successful campaign.

Sit/Lie Enforcement Suspended

Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer has suspended enforcement of Sit/Lie after the law was found unconstitutional last week. Read the official memorandum on the Street Roots blog.

June 22, 2009 Update: Sit/Lie Ruled Unconstitutional Again

A Multnomah County Circuit Court Judge has found that Portland’s controversial Sidewalk Obstructions Ordinance, or Sit/Lie, unconstitutionally exceeds the city’s authority, as it conflicts with and is preempted by state law. Read the whole story in Street Roots. 

February 18, 2009: Sit/Lie Ruled Unconstitutional

A judge has found that parts of the city’s Sit/Lie law are unconstitutional. Read the whole story in The Mercury. To find out more about Sit/Lie, continue reading below.

According to data submitted to the City by the Portland Police Bureau, the Sit-Lie Law has been enforced almost exclusively against homeless people. “Enforcement of the Sit-Lie Law is not only inhumane and immoral, it’s unconstitutional; the constitution says laws cannot be enforced against any one class of people. Of the 88 warnings and citations issued between August 30th, 2007 and January 22nd, 2008, 79 were people who were identified as homeless, ‘transient,’ or no address was listed,” said former community organizer, Patrick Nolen, Community Organizer for Sisters.
 

The SAFE Workgroup was established by the Portland City Council on May 24, 2006, developing “Five Strategies for a More Livable Portland.” According to the Executive Summary of this process on the Mayor’s website, “The Workgroup emphasized that consensus around this strategy would not endure unless all five parts are implemented together.”
 

Sisters’ staff representatives on the SAFE oversight committee noted that the services associated with these strategies, including day access center space, public restrooms and benches, have not been implemented in a timely and adequate manner. 

By contrast, the strategy of a sit-lie law that prohibits anyone from sitting or lying on a public sidewalk between 7 am and 9 pm has been fully implemented, and the vast majority of warnings and citations are issued to homeless individuals. To deepen this injustice, the language of the law applies to obstructions on the sidewalk including signs and seating outside of businesses that do not have the proper permit.  No action has been taken to enforce the law as it applies to inanimate objects, only humans who lack shelter.

In recognition that the SAFE process has not resulted in the equal implementation of the five strategies and has been shown to target homeless people in its enforcement, Sisters Of The Road publicly resigned from the Oversight Committee on May 8, 2008.