Tell the General Assembly to Support the Right to Rest Bill (HB1394)
Prevent localities from arresting, ticketing, or fining people experiencing homelessness for safely resting in public places.
Background
As you know, Virginia does not currently have enough shelter beds to house the at least 7,100 individuals and families who are experiencing homelessness on a daily basis, according to the 2024 Point in Time Count. Currently, the Virginia State Code gives local governments broad authority to pass ordinances to manage the safety and access of public places, yet the code fails to distinguish basic survival from activities that disrupt or endanger others.
At least 16 communities in Virginia have ordinances on the books that can be used to penalize individuals and families for life-sustaining activities when they have nowhere else to go, regardless of the impact on others. In other words, Virginia laws fail to recognize that homelessness itself is not a crime nor a choice.
H.B. 1394 (Right t o Rest) seeks to clarify the law by preventing arrests, tickets, or fines for basic survival activities like sleeping or resting in publicly owned and publicly accessible spaces, including in legally parked cars in such spaces. This applies only when people are not blocking access, traffic, or creating safety risks.
H.B. 1394 This is a commonsense piece of legislation that does not limit a locality’s ability to manage public safety. The goal is to stop making homelessness worse while we work on long term solutions, such as those that provide more affordable housing and supportive services for as long as people need them.