Oregon Patients
Rights Association (OPRA) Legislative Action
The Right to Rest
SB 629
According
to the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), in January 2014,
578,424 people were homeless on a given night in America*. In Oregon
specifically, 12,164 people were homeless in 2014. ** Oregon Patients’ Rights
Association (OPRA) is concerned about this issue for many reasons. One of those
reasons is the adverse health impacts that homelessness is often associated
with. The National Health for the Homeless Council (NHCHC) has done research
into the correlation between homelessness and health. As a result of this
research they found, “High stress, unhealthy and dangerous environments, and an
inability to control food intake often result in visits to emergency rooms and
hospitalization which worsens overall health. Thus, it is not surprising that
those experiencing homelessness are three to four times more likely to die
prematurely than their housed counterparts, and experience an average life
expectancy as low as 41 years”.***
Right
now, Oregon’s Senate is considering Senate Bill (SB) 629.
If approved, this bill would establish the Oregon
Right to Rest Act. This bill would decriminalize the act of rest, which is
defined in the bill as a state sleeping or moving or state of holding certain
positions, such as sitting. With decriminalization would come the redirecting
of resources from law enforcement activities to activities that address root
causes of homelessness and poverty. Moreover, this bill would extend rights
that most people have in their homes to the public spaces where a person
experiencing homelessness is.
OPRA
supports SB629. We believe the right
to sleep or even just sit on a bench without law enforcement harassing or even
criminally penalizing people is the least we can do for our homeless
population. We all need to rest unharassed; it is critical to our health and
well-being. This includes homeless people. Since we know that negative health
outcomes and homelessness are connected, we view this as a public health issue.
While we believe ending homelessness is the only real way to resolve issues
created by homelessness, we support SB 629 because it is important step in
acknowledging that our homeless population is not currently given even the
basic human rights that those of us with homes often take for granted.
Since
SB629 is currently in the Oregon Senate, you could make an impact on the
passing of this important piece of legislation by calling or emailing your
representative in the Oregon Senate to let them know that you support the right
for homeless people to rest and would like for them to support SB629.
Additionally, you can spread the word about SB629 so others can impact, too.
*https://www.hudexchange.info/resources/documents/2014-AHAR-Part1.pdf
**http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2014/10/hud_homelessness_report_oregon.html
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