Take Action

Below are some ways to help end homelessness, organized by Sisters and our Civic Action Group (CAG), community organizers who have experience with homelessness.

Update! 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.

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. To find out more about Sit/Lie, see below.

Even though the enforcement of Sit/Lie has been suspended, this does not mean that the City has gotten rid of the Sit/Lie law. Please call the Mayor and City Commissioners and ask them to repeal Sit/Lie immediately because this law is unconstitutional and violates Portlander’s rights!

Here is a sample of what you could say:

“Hi my name is ________.  I’m a Portland voter and I’m calling to let my commissioners know that I oppose the Sit/Lie Law. The law has been found unconstitutional, in violation of state laws, and is unfairly enforced against people experiencing homelessness. Please go one step further than suspending the enforcement of this law and repeal it. Thank you for your time.”

Contact info:

Sam Adams, Mayor
Commissioner of Finance and Administration
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 340, 97204
Phone: (503) 823-4120
E-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Amanda Fritz
Commissioner of Public Utilities, Position Number 1
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 220, 97204
Phone: (503) 823-3008
E-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Nick Fish
Commissioner of Public Works, Position Number 2
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Ave, Room 240, 97204
Phone: (503) 823-3589
E-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Randy Leonard
Commissioner of Public Safety, Position Number 4
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 210, 97204
Phone: (503) 823-4682
E-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Dan Saltzman
Commissioner of Public Affairs, Position Number 3
City Hall @ 1221 SW 4th Avenue, Room 230, 97204
Phone: (503) 823-4151
E-mail: (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Demand HUD meet the full demand of housing in NW Oregon

Street Roots, Columbia County Citizens for Human Dignity, Neighborhood Partnerships, Oregon ON, Columbia River Business Alliance, Sisters Of The Road, Rural Organizing Project, Tillamook County Citizens for Human Dignity, Columbia Pacific Alliance for Social Justice, Latinos Unidos para un Futuro Mejor, and the Western Regional Advocacy Project to ask HUD to meet its housing needs in Northwest Oregon.

Northwest Oregon Housing Authority (NOHA) sent a letter May 26 notifying 285 low-income households in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook Counties that they will be cut off their Section 8 vouchers effective July 1. For some, the assistance is more than 90 percent of their rent. NOHA hopes to have funding reinstated at the end of the year, at which time the families could have their Section 8 restored. However, the assistance is uncertain and these households cannot wait that long.

Immediate action from HUD is requested to fill the funding gap to keep people in their homes. The overall gap is $600,000, but Oregon Housing and Community Services has contributed $50,000 to provide rental assistance for an estimated 15-20 households who were previously homeless and have the greatest need, for an estimated six months. The remaining figure requested from HUD, therefore, is $550,000.

Poverty and unemployment in these rural communities is a serious problem. The State of Oregon recently reported that homelessness in Oregon has increased 35-37%. The Oregon Department Of Education reports that in school year 2007-2008 the school districts in Clatsop, Columbia and Tillamook counties had 540 homeless students, of which 460 were in families.

Call the Portland HUD field office and tell them to restore $550,000 in funding needed to make sure more Oregon families are not kicked to the streets.

Phone: (971) 222-2600 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

Facts about Sit/Lie:

• The Sit/Lie Law prohibits anyone from sitting or lying on a public sidewalk between 7am and 9pm in the Downtown and Lloyd District areas.
• Sit/Lie is unfairly enforced against people who are homeless.
• The latest incarnation of this law was enacted as part of the Street Access For Everyone (SAFE) Resolution, which included “Five Strategies for a More Livable Portland.” The services associated with these strategies include day access center space, public restrooms and showers. Although the services associated with SAFE are helpful and necessary for the community, it is not ok to trade civil rights for services. This trend of trading people’s civil rights for services is happening across the country and it must stop. The services associated with SAFE should continue to be funded, but these services should not be tied to a law that is unfairly enforced against people who are experiencing homelessness.
• Sit/Lie violates Portlander’s civil rights. Similar laws exist across the county where people experiencing homelessness and poverty are pushed out of public places.

May 2009 Sit/Lie Update

On Wednesday May 6th, 2009, Portland City Council voted to temporarily extend Sit/Lie. Commissioner Randy Leonard was the only one to vote no on the extension—thank you Commissioner Leonard! This means that the new sunset deadline for the ordinance will be October 23, 2009. We are working to organize our community before then and we hope you join us in calling on Portland to stand up for the rights of all in our community and get rid of the Sit/Lie!

For more info on what happened at City Hall on Wednesday, April 29th, check out our Street Roots blog.

For more info on the Sit/Lie law, click ‘read more’ below.

February 18, 2009 Update: Sit-Lie Ruled Unconstitutional

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 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.