The criminalization of homelessness, defined as the punitive
social reaction to life-sustaining behaviors and activities engaged in by
persons experiencing homelessness, has dramatically been on the rise across the
nation for better than two decades. This regressive approach in response to
burgeoning homelessness has been documented in seminal reports from the
National Coalition for the Homeless, National Law Center on Homelessness and
Poverty, and other regional homeless advocacy organizations. Implemented
primarily via the agency of municipal government, nearly every state in the
nation has seen an increase in the number of laws prohibiting life-sustaining
activities like camping, sleeping in vehicles, begging/panhandling, performing
bodily functions (even in the absence of public restrooms), storing personal
property outdoors and, perhaps most egregiously, the sharing of food by both
secular and faith-based institutions.
In response to
these oppressive measures which serve no documented function whatsoever in
terms of moving society in the direction of ending homelessness, homeless
persons and advocates have united to bring ‘Right-to-Rest’ or Homeless Bill of
Rights legislation to their respective states. Three states now include HBoR’s
among their statutes – Rhode Island, Connecticut and Illinois – while a host of
others have brought forth similar proposals in recent years but have yet to see
them passed: California, Washington, Colorado, Oregon, and Delaware. The
latter’s legislature is considering a Homeless Bill of Rights at the time of
this writing.
Florida,
which a variety of reports suggest may be the #1 state in the nation in terms
of its criminalization of homelessness, arguably needs to adopt such a measure
for the protection of the basic human rights and dignity of homeless persons
more than any other.
Short title. – This chapter shall be known and
may be cited as the "Homeless Bill of Rights."
Legislative intent. – At
the present time, many persons are enduring homelessness, that is, the lack of
a permanent, nighttime residence, as a result of economic hardship, a severe
shortage of safe and affordable housing, and a shrinking social safety net. It
is the long-standing policy of this State that no person should suffer
unnecessarily from the elements (cold, heat, rain, etc.), be deprived of food
or shelter (or the basic rights incident to both), or be subject to unfair
discrimination based on his or her housing status. It is the intent of this
chapter to ameliorate the adverse effects visited upon families and individuals
and our communities when the State’s residents lack permanent housing, and create
a society where all people, regardless of their housing status, are valued and
treated with dignity and respect, and their human, legal and civil rights are
protected.
SECTION 1.
Bill of Rights – All natural persons, female and male alike, are equal
before the law and have inalienable rights, among which is the right to
acquire, possess and protect property. No person's rights, privileges or access
to public services may be denied or abridged solely because he or she is experiencing
homeless. Every person, regardless of housing status, has the following rights:
a)
the right
to housing, which is a basic human right, as
stated in Article
25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states:
“Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and
well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and
medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the
event of unemployment, sickness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack
of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control;” thus, the State and local municipalities will take
measurable steps to intervene in the housing crisis in order to provide safe,
affordable emergency shelter and permanent housing for people experiencing
homelessness, including for those who are extremely-low-income (ELI), and
forbid discrimination against persons seeking housing because they may not have a fixed
or residential mailing address or because they only have a post office box or
social service agency as a mailing address;
b)
the right
to equal treatment under the law by all State and
municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status, and equal protection
of the laws and due process by law enforcement and prosecuting agencies;
c)
the right
not to face discrimination in obtaining or maintaining employment due the lack of a permanent residence or a permanent mailing
address, or because the mailing address is that of a homeless shelter, or a
homeless or social services provider;
d)
the right
to personal safety, which shall include: protection
from violence based upon housing status, and law enforcement’s recording and
reporting of all such incidents;
e)
the right
to use and move freely in public spaces,
which shall include but not limited to public sidewalks, public parks, public
transportation and public buildings, in the same manner as any other person and
without discrimination on the basis of his or her housing status;
f)
the right
to rest or sleep in temporary shelter,
such as any legally-parked motor or recreational vehicle or a self-erected
shelter (e.g., a tent), on public or private property, for the purpose of
immediate survival of persons, and their pets, without harassment by law
enforcement officers or others, especially when there is an inadequate
availability of suitable shelter and housing, and law enforcement shall give
such persons fifteen (15) days’ notice, except in the case of a public health
crisis or other emergency, to displace such persons from an encampment or relocate the temporary shelter(s);
g)
the right
to emergency medical care, free from
discrimination based on housing status;
h)
the right
to vote, register to vote, and receive
documentation necessary to prove identity for voting, without discrimination
due to housing status;
i)
the right
to protection of personal property,
in accordance with Article 1, Section 9 of the State Constitution, which states
no person shall be deprived of life, liberty or property without due process of
law, which includes: 1) not having identification or personal records,
especially documentation of mainstream benefits, legal proceedings and familial
records, discarded or destroyed by law enforcement or others, 2) storing
displaced people's belongings for 60 days without charge, and 3) the right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in
his or her personal property to the same extent as personal property in a
permanent residence; and,
j)
the right
to give and accept food, water (or other non-alcoholic beverages) and shelter, in public spaces or
elsewhere, and to
connect persons experiencing homelessness with nonprofits that would provide
them with shelter or transitional housing and "wrap-around services,"
such as counseling, medical care and employment assistance.
SECTION 2. Basic Human Functions – All human beings, regardless of housing status, have the
same basic needs to defecate, urinate, and access clean water and other living
necessities. All persons, whether permanently housed or experiencing
homelessness, should have the opportunity to perform these basic human functions
in public locations and facilities, which includes public parks and buildings, with
dignity and relative privacy under hygienic circumstances and conditions, in
clean, safe, highly accessible facilities, free to all persons.
SECTION 3. Posting –
A notice entitled "DECLARATION OF HOMELESS PERSON’S BILL OF RIGHTS"
and containing the text in this resolution will be conspicuously posted in all
public parks and on the notice boards of all municipal buildings.
SECTION 4. Application of Resolution – This resolution shall apply to county and municipal agencies
and employees, including all law enforcement officers and officials, as well as
private actors.
SECTION 5. Documentation of Incidents – To ensure equitable and cost effective enforcement of the
Homeless Person’s Bill of Rights, every local law enforcement agency shall
annually compile, review, and make available to any inquiring party, the number
of citations, arrests, and other enforcement activities made pursuant to laws
prohibiting the following:
1.
Obstructing a sidewalk, whether by a
person or personal property;
2.
Loitering;
3.
Sitting;
4.
Lying down;
5.
Camping;
6.
Public lodging;
7.
Sleeping in a public place;
8.
Soliciting donations;
9.
Soliciting donations at certain
restricted locations, including citing people for panhandling;
10.
Bathing in public places;
11.
Sharing or receiving food;
12.
Inhabiting or sleeping in a vehicle;
13.
Violating public park closure laws;
14.
Trespassing, unless the trespassing
charge is coupled with any other misdemeanor or felony.
15.
Preparing and/or cooking food.
SECTION 6. Definition of Homeless – For the purposes of this resolution, “homeless” means
lacking a fixed, regular, and adequate residence, or having a primary residence
in a shelter, on the street, in a vehicle, in an enclosure or structure that is
not authorized or fit for human habitation, substandard apartments, dwellings,
doubled up temporarily with friends or families, staying in transitional
housing programs, staying anywhere without tenancy rights, or staying with one
or more children of whom they are the parent or legal guardian in a residential
hotel or motel whether or not they have tenancy rights.
SECTION 7. Definition of Harassment – “Harassment”
means a knowing and willful course of
conduct by law enforcement, public or private security personnel, or a private
citizen directed at a specific person or group of persons, especially because
of their lack of housing, that a reasonable person would consider as seriously
alarming, seriously annoying, seriously intimidating, seriously threatening,
seriously tormenting, or seriously terrorizing a person so as to disrupt,
change or alter their behavior or location.
SECTION 8. Severable –
The
provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of this act or its
application is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions
or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application.
Damages and
attorney's fees. In any civil action alleging
a violation of this Act, the court may award appropriate injunctive and
declaratory relief, actual damages, and reasonable attorney's fees and costs to
a prevailing plaintiff.
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