Individuals, families, and advocacy groups came together in solidarity with Right 2 Survive, Sisters of the Road, VOZ, and Right 2 Dream Too on Wednesday morning, January 21, 2015 for the Homeless Bill of Rights Testimony and Rally at City Hall.

The march route went from the VOZ worker center on NE Martin Luther King Blvd to Right 2 Dream Too on NW 4th and W Burnside to the final destination on the steps of City Hall.

The march was followed by three of the marchers going inside to give their testimony in front of the City Council.

The testimony’s focus was for seeking support from the City Council for the Right to Rest Act. The Right to Rest Act seeks the right to set up tents, the right to set up cover, the cessation of sweeps, and the prevention of personal property confiscation by police and security.

Currently, in Portland, large-scale sweeps are being implemented to remove homeless encampments, and citations are being given to individuals who are homeless for resting along sidewalks. During the sweeps, it has become a common practice for the destruction of tents by slashing them and personal belongings being thrown away.

“Power to the Peaceful” Participants marching in solidarity for the protection and rights of society’s vulnerable.
Mary Anne Funk/Portland, Oregon Documentary Photographer