Advocates push bill to reaffirm rights of people experiencing homelessness

Kelly Turley, associate director at the Massachusetts Coalition for the Homeless, urged the Joint Judiciary Committee to support H.4783, a bill intended to reaffirm the rights of people experiencing homelessness and to prevent local criminalization of survival activities.

"This bill would address the rise in criminalization of homelessness in communities across the Commonwealth and reaffirm the rights of people experiencing homelessness to use public spaces without discrimination based on their housing status," Turley said, noting that the bill stems from a national template and the Coalition's 12-year advocacy for a bill of rights.

Turley highlighted a recent trend in local ordinances that ban encampments and criminalize acts people undertake to survive, and urged committee members to consider fiscal investments in the FY 2027 budget to prevent homelessness and expand shelter capacity. She named several municipalities where encampment bans have been enacted or discussed, and requested favorable consideration for the late-filed bill.

The committee did not take action on H.4783 during the hearing and invited written testimony.