rights, inclusion, safety And equality for unhoused persons
….The RISE UP Campaign is a two-part bill package grounded in the leadership of individuals with lived experience of homelessness….
Read our latest report: Protecting Unhoused New Yorkers: A Legislative Framework to Address Discrimination and Violence
The Homeless Protection Act (A.1565/S.5816)
The HPA increases protections for people who are targeted because of their housing status by designating certain offenses as hate crimes.
The Homelessness Non-Discrimination Act (A.8913/S.8444)
The HONDA prohibits discrimination based on housing status in employment and internships, education, housing, public accommodations, and credit and financial services
IMPACT OF THE HPA + THE HONDA
Enshrines greater legal protections
Establishes accountability through high quality data collection on cases of discrimination and violence
Combats stigma surrounding people experiencing homelessness
unhoused communities regularly face widespread stigma, discrimination, and violence.
By the numbers:
violence and discrimination
Nationally, unhoused individuals are up to 82% more likely to face violent attacks due to their housing status
From 1999-2022, a national study has documented at least 76 violent attacks against people experiencing homelessness in New York that could be classified as hate crimes. Advocates widely recognize this as a severe undercount.
81% of unhoused individuals interviewed for a study in NYC experienced 1 or more instances of homelessness discrimination within a year. More than half reported being treated as “mentally inferior” or “subhuman,” often labeled as “crazy,” “irresponsible,” or “lazy.”
PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOMELESSNESS HAVE THE RIGHT TO ENJOY A SAFE AND DIGNIFIED LIFE
“People feel like whatever abuse I want to inflict on this person I will because there’s nothing they can do. We, as a society, have dehumanized unhoused folks and people see them as lesser in value, that they can violate them and no one will care.”