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Stop the Homeless Sweeps Mayor Nickels
 Join Jobs with Justice and Real Change tomorrow, December 16th, at 6pm at City Hall for the 'Stop the Homeless Sweeps Camp Out'. Also, join us on the morning of the 17th at 9am to show solidarity with the working homeless at City Hall.
In these economic times when people are losing their jobs or becoming underemployed the rate of homelessness is rising. We need strong leadership that will not punish the poor and homeless but will lead us to 'people first' solutions.
Tell Mayor Nickels to Stop the Sweeps and provide more funding for emergency shelters!
To email the Mayor go to http://www.seattle.gov/mayor/citizen_response.htm or call him at (206) 684-4000.
| Sample Letter for Campaign |
Subject: Mayor Nickels Stop the Sweeps
Dear [ Decision Maker ] ,
Winter is upon us and so is an economic recession. It is inhumane and immoral to punish people for living outside when there is not enough shelter or affordable housing to meet their needs.
Mayor Nickels please stop all non-emergency sweeps immediately and expand housing and services instead of criminalizing survival.
Sincerely,
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Campaign Launched:
December 15, 2008
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With an economic recession looming, workers losing their jobs and growing numbers who are underemployed; homelessness is on the rise. The greed of Wall Street, the deregulation of the financial industry and this never ending war has put a back-breaking strain on our government. When workers need services the most city, county and state governments are cutting back on services for the homeless (and for everyone trying to survive this recession). Now is the most important time to be on the steps of city hall, showing the mayor and the city that we need more housing, we need better alternatives to sleeping in parks, and until those happen, we need the sweeps to stop.
Since early summer 2007, the city has been going into homeless camps, kicking people out and disposing of their belongings. Mayor Nickels has been assuring the public that there is plenty of shelter and that Nickelsville is full of people who have homes to return to. This is simply not the case. There are not enough shelter beds and after shelters are full, there are over 2,000 people left on the streets every night. Most of whom, on multiple occasions have been kicked out of parks and had their survival gear taken by city officials. They're being told to get out and move on, but they have no where to go, and nothing to sleep in.
Join us on the steps of City Hall on the 16th at 6pm to stand in solidarity with our neighbors who are trying to survive.
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