rights, inclusion, safety and equality for unhoused persons: RISE UP
….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 (A1565/S5816)
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 (A8913/S8444)
The HONDA prohibits discrimination based on housing status in employment and internships, education, housing, public accommodations, and credit and financial services
Impact of HPA & 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.”