Page 1
Image One:
Text: “I stood vigil for two women murdered while their caseworkers couldn’t find them. Shelter had been located for them but they never got it.”
ALT Text: Anita Freeman, of Women in Black, the Homeless Remembrance and the Women’s Housing and Enhancement League (WHEEL) speaks in front of a window, recalling the tragedy of two women who died while waiting for shelter.
Image Two:
Text: “‘They were hiding from sweeps.'” — Anita Freeman
ALT Text: A dark scene under a bridge shows two unhoused individuals huddled together, emphasizing their vulnerability.
Image Three:
Text: “‘Sweeps separate unhoused people from what fragile community they have, and from all their belongings and survival resources. That’s how sweeps kill.'” — Anita Freeman
ALT Text: A large broom symbolizing a city sweep pushes away people and their tents in a cloud of dust.
Image Four:
Text: “Under Mayor Harrell, deaths of unhoused people in Seattle are higher than ever.”
ALT Text: A row of candles lit in remembrance of the deceased homeless, with a caption stating that 221 candles were placed in 2021, and 289 candles in 2022.
Image Five:
Text: “Anita Freeman and other advocates say the city’s aggressive escalation of encampment sweeps is a major factor in the increase. 33 million was spent in 2022 on the Unified Care Team, tasked with the removal of ‘unauthorized encampments’ (Seattle Time 10/14/2022.) About 38 million has been budgeted for 2023.”
ALT Text: A red pushpin on a city map marks various locations where sweeps have displaced people.
Image Six:
Text: “Even for people who want more sweeps for a ‘cleaner’ city, they’re not a successful strategy. Unhoused people don’t disappear, they’re just pushed from place to place.”
ALT Text: A homeless person pushes a shopping cart full of belongings as a dotted red line represents their forced displacement across the city.
Image Seven:
Text: “So why do we continue to do something that seems so cruel and futile? One reason is that we see the unhoused as different from us in some essential way.”
ALT Text: Freeman continues speaking, appearing contemplative ‘People think if it only happens to bad people, it’s not going to happen to them.’
Page 2
Image One:
Text: “Dehumanization requires an endless stream of depictions of the unhoused as dirty and dangerous.”
ALT Text: A news broadcast labeled “KOMO NEWS” shows an angry mob holding signs that say “Filth! Crime! Garbage!”, depicting the fear-based portrayal of homelessness.
Image Two:
Text: “Anita Freeman says the response to the shocking sight of extreme poverty is partly understandable.
‘But if you don’t want needles, you have to pay for treatment centers and housing. If you don’t want feces, you have to pay for restrooms.'”
ALT Text: A small red building, likely a restroom or public facility, is placed in a green park, emphasizing the need for infrastructure rather than punitive measures.
Image Three:
Text: “City Council Member Andrew Lewis downplays the council’s power to control the mayor’s policy of sweeping, despite its ability to amend the city budget, saying:
‘Sweeps are a strategy, not a budget line item.'”
ALT Text: Andrew Lewis gestures dismissively, illustrating the political rhetoric around sweeps.
Image Four:
Text: “One barrier to discontinuing sweeps is that the mayor denies they happen at all.”
ALT Text: The mayor stands at a podium with the Seattle city seal, stating “Under this administration, we don’t sweep.”, contradicting visible evidence.
Image Five:
Text: “If you define a sweep as a forced displacement of unhoused people who have not been provided shelter, this is clearly not true. The mutual aid group Stop the Sweeps has estimated that there have been an average of 20-25 sweeps a month in 2022, plus more that are done with no notice.”
ALT Text: A chaotic scene shows people scrambling to gather their belongings as tents are torn down.
Image Six:
Text: “The official city line is that everyone in a swept encampment is referred to a shelter. These referrals are largely meaningless, as emergency congregant shelters are not only dangerous for women and LGBTQIA+ people Seattle Times (Seattle Times 8/19/2021), there are often not more than one or two open beds available (PubliCola 10/14/2022.)”
ALT Text: A dimly lit shelter with only two empty beds, symbolizing the lack of actual resources.
Image Seven:
Text: “A spokesperson for the mayor did not respond to questions about the discrepancy between his words and his actions.”
ALT Text: A large broom symbolizing a city sweep forcefully pushes people and their belongings away.
