Policy

The "Policy" page is meant to be a tool for organizers, journalists, students, policy wonks, and the general public surrounding poverty and human rights in the Portland region. 

Homelessness in the Portland region

Home Again: A 10-year Plan to End Homelessness

• More than 860 cities and counties have created 10-year plans to end homelessness.
• Portland and Multnomah County: Home Again: A ten year plan to end homelessness (PDF)
• Results:  2009 Goals  2008  2007  2006  2005
• Washington County: A road home: A ten year plan to end homelessness (PDF)

Related articles:

• 10-year plan to end homelessness point/counterpoint.

Portland's Homeless Count 

• 2009 Homeless Street Count.
• 2007 Homeless Street Count.

Vulnerability Index

• The Vulnerability Index is a tool for identifying and prioritizing the street homeless population for housing according to the fragility of their health. Click here to read the report. 

Related articles:  

Measuring our Vulnerability (PDF)

Voices of homelessness (Portland)

• Read from more than 600 one-on-one interviews conducted by Sisters Of The Road. 

Public Restroom Advocates

• PHLUSH
• Public restrooms

Homelessness in the U.S. and beyond: 

• Without Housing: Decades of Federal Cutbacks, Massive Homelessness and Policy Failures (PDF): This report documents funding trends over the past 25 years by the United States federal government in the area of housing. It describes the relationships between the trends and the emergence of a new massive episode of homelessness in the 1980s. It then demonstrates an important reason why federal responses to homelessness have failed to resolve the problem. Click here for more.
• Much of the policy around homelessness in the United States is born at the National Alliance to End Homelessness. 

Related articles:

• Restorative justice equals no justice.
• Without rights, without housing.  

Around the globe

• Western Regional Advocacy Project.
• Art for organizing!
• North American Street Newspaper Association.
• Street News Service.
• International Network of Street Papers.
• Global facts from INSP.
• National Coalition for Homeless Vets. 
• National Coalition for Education of Children and Youth.
• End Homelessness blog.

Government:

• Department of Housing and Urban Development.
• United States Interagency Council on Homelessness.

Civil Rights and Homelessness 

• Without Rights: An on-going campaign being put together by grassroots community organizations working with people experiencing poverty, including Street Roots. Read more.
• Sisters Of The Road systemic change program is committed to identifying and implementing immediate and long-term solutions to problems faced by people experiencing homelessness both in Portland, Oregon and nationwide. Find out more. 
• National Coalition for the Homeless: National Homeless Civil Rights Organizing Project.
• Camping alternatives: Tent City Toolkit is a interactive multimedia DVD organizing tool focused on issues of homelessness and the role of grassroots, democratic tent cities as a necessary step to resolving homelessness. See the Tent City Toolkit.

Related articles:

• Chronology of Portland's civil rights campaigns (2000-2008).
• Illegal Camping. Camping ordinance being challenged. 
• City extends sit-lie until October (2009). 
• Sit-lie is a gateway drug.

For more information on homelessness and laws effecting people experiencing homelessness and poverty see Know Your Rights.

Affordable Housing

• Coming soon!

Human Rights

 The Office of Human Relations provides leadership on civil and human rights issues through the coordination advocacy, education, research, and intervention services. 

•  File a human rights complaint. 
• Human rights resources in Portland.
• United Nations Human Rights.
• Legal rights in Mulnomah, Clackamas and Washington Counties.

Healthy and Sustainable Communities

• Center for Intercultral Organizing.
• Multicultural community links.
• Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization.
  
• Coalition For A Livable Future.
• Portland State Urban Studies and Planning.
• Basic Rights Oregon.
• VOZ.
• Mental Health Association of Portland
• Oregon Center for Public Policy
• Human Rights Commission

Oregon Bill Tracker

• Find out what is happening statewide