Oregon groups join J20 action for affordable housing and civil rights - You can be next!
It’s not to late for you or your group (non-profits, community organizations, businesses) to sign the petition in support.
The following groups have endorsed the Jan. 20th action: Community Alliance of Tenants, White Feather Peace Community, Jobs With Justice, American Friends Service Committee of Portland, Downtown Chapel, Peace Voice, Northwest Pilot Projects, Rose CDC, Mental Health Association of Portland, Tikkun and the Network of Spiritual Progressives, Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, Street Roots, Sisters Of The Road and Oregon On.
On January 20, 2010 the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP) will be gathering in downtown San Francisco at the regional HUD offices to demand the following from the Obama Administration:
ON HOUSING
• Immediately restore the Federal Government’s affordable housing funding to comparable 1978 levels. (In 1978, the budget was over $83 billion – in 2009 it is a meager $38.5 billion.)
• Restore USDA new unit construction levels in rural communities to the 31,000 annually averaged between 1976 and 1985.
• Enact a moratorium on the demolition, conversion or destruction of ANY publicly funded units until federal law guarantees one for one replacement at existing affordability rates.
• Ensure adequate funding for operations of public housing to prevent unit loss, high vacancy rates, and substandard living conditions.
ON CIVIL RIGHTS
• Stop “nuisance crimes” or “quality of life crimes.” These programs criminalize and remove homeless, poor, people of color, and disabled members of our communities.
• Call for DOJ to respond to LA community request for investigation of discriminatory police enforcement under the Safer Cities Initiative that targets homeless, poor, people of color and disabled community residents.
• Ensure that the more than 914,000 homeless children in our public schools are able to stay at their “home school” are fully integrated with their housed peers, and are provided the support they need to learn and thrive.
• Stop any and all questions regarding a person’s immigration status when they are requesting housing, health care, emergency shelter or services.
Read more and sign the petition!
Sisters Of The Road and Street Roots are founding members of the Western Regional Advocacy Project (WRAP). Our mission is to build a movement that is based in the experience of people with experience with homelessness to expose the root causes of homelessness; challenge unjust housing and economic development policies; and fight the criminalization of poverty.
