Occupy Forum: The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) “Housekeys Not Handcuffs”

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The Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP)
“Housekeys Not Handcuffs”

Because federal responses to homelessness have been so ineffective, a growing number of localities “clean up the streets” to remove homeless people from public view. These punitive measures involve gross human and civil rights violations. This nationwide pattern has escaped civil rights protections because these ordinances are drafted very carefully to appear as if they apply equally to all people. But enforcement is very much impacted by people’s skin color, housing, economic, and mental health status.WRAP’s civil rights campaign combines street outreach, documentation of civil rights violations, organizing, legal defense, and direct action. None of us can do this alone. We must work in solidarity with one another to defend those being attacked and pressure local governments to end these discriminatory programs.The WRAP Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign (HBR) strives to ensure that ALL people have the basic right to live where they choose without fear of harassment and criminalization.  Today, numerous laws infringe on poor people’s equal protection under the law. WRAP will introduce legislation in California, Oregon & Colorado to overturn local laws targeted to remove people from public space. Opposition from corporate, political, and law enforcement forces will be strong.  The base of support at the local level must be extensive.

The HBR campaign is more than an effort to pass state legislation. It is a way of working collectively with groups possessing different talentsto address the injustices that we face in our communities. Even if there isn’t an immediate victory, we are building the power to create a social justice movement that will eventually enable a more decent society.

Laws that segregate, that make criminals of people based on their status rather than their behavior, or that prohibit certain people’s right to be in public spaces are not just sad relics from the past: Today, numerous laws infringe on poor people’s ability to exist in public space, to acquire housing, employment, and basic services, and to equal protection under the law.

Our Homeless Bill of Rights Campaign (HBR) stands on the shoulders of social justice campaigns of the past to alleviate poverty and homelessness while protecting homeless and poor people from unjust laws and ensuring all people’s right to exist in public spaces. — WRAP

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http://wraphome.org/work/civil-rights-campaign