THE HOMELESS BILL OF RIGHTS
THE HOMELESS BILL OF RIGHTS
The main goal of the Homeless Bill of Rights is to enshrine and protect the civil and human rights of people while they are experiencing homelessness. It aims to end the criminalization of the experience of homelessness. It also guarantees that all Cleveland residents have the same rights and are treated with respect and compassion, regardless of their housing status. The proposed Homeless Bill of Rights adds protections against discrimination for people experiencing homelessness in Cleveland and memorializes specific rights belonging to people experiencing homelessness.
For several years, people with lived experience of homelessness in Cleveland have been convening in a space known as Homeless Congress, where a diverse group of people with firsthand experience gather, share ideas, make connections, and push for changes in our community. The Homeless Congress formed a Homeless Bill of Rights Committee in 2018 with individuals with lived experience who personally understood the violent and legal consequences that befall people who don’t have an address. The Homeless Bill of Rights Committee upholds the importance of treating housing as a human rights issue and has been working on a draft ordinance, similar to versions passed in other states, that provide protections and rights for those without housing in Cleveland. This work evolved out of tireless efforts and stories of many people who were harassed and criminalized for sitting, lying, sleeping, and eating while experiencing homelessness in our community.
Goals of the Homeless Bill of Rights:
Adds protections against discrimination for people experiencing homelessness in Cleveland
Memorializes specific rights belonging to people experiencing homelessness
Amends the City’s Code of Ordinances to: Add “homeless status” to the list of protected classes in housing, public accommodations, and employment antidiscrimination ordinances and create a list of rights for the homeless
THE HOMELESS BILL OF RIGHTS WOULD ESTABLISH A SERIES OF RIGHTS TO WHICH PEOPLE WHO ARE HOMELESS ARE ENTITLED, INCLUDING:
The right to safe and affordable emergency and/or transitional shelter and permanent housing for people experiencing
homelessness.The right to use and move freely in public spaces, including, but not limited to, public sidewalks, public parks, public transportation, and public buildings, and without discrimination or harassment from law enforcement officers or other officials on the basis of housing status.
The right to rest or sleep in a non-obstructive manner in public spaces.
The right to shelter oneself from the elements in a non-obstructive manner in public spaces.
The right to social exchange. The right to give and accept food, beverages, and shelter, in public spaces or elsewhere, and to connect persons experiencing homelessness with organizations that provide shelter or transitional housing and social services, such as mental health or substance abuse counseling, medical care, and employment assistance. The right also to panhandle in public spaces, and to communicate to others in other reasonable ways for other similar purposes.
The right to equal treatment by all state and municipal agencies, without discrimination on the basis of housing status.
The right to equal treatment by all law enforcement agencies, including the right to be free from searches or detention based upon actual or perceived housing status.
The right to occupy one’s own legally parked motor vehicle or occupy a legally parked motor vehicle belonging to another, with the owner’s permission.
The right to a reasonable expectation of privacy in one’s personal property in public spaces and homeless shelters to the same extent as personal property in a permanent residence.
The right to protection from unauthorized disclosure of records and personal information provided to homeless shelters and service providers to state, municipal, and private entities; and the right to confidentiality of personal records and information in accordance with all limitations on disclosure established by the Federal Homeless Management Information Systems, the Federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, and the Federal Violence Against Women Act, or any other applicable law.
The right to receive emergency medical care free from discrimination based on housing status.
The right to be free from strip searches, and pat-downs by opposite-gendered staff, in homeless shelters.
The right to vote, register to vote, and receive any documentation necessary to provide identity for voting without discrimination due to a person’s housing status.
Cleveland’s Homeless Bill of Rights is modeled after similar bills passed by state legislatures in Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Illinois, and those proposed in California, Colorado, Washington, and in cities like Denver and New Haven.
