This morning I’m thinking about what would happen if Real Change weren’t here to stir things up. The Mayor’s office, to take one example, would still be doing their homeless sweeps, throwing away people’s meager possessions with a day’s notice at best, and attacking the most vulnerable people in the city in the name of “ending homelessness.”
And you wouldn’t know a thing about it.
On Wed., Dec. 19, the Real Change Organizing Project will hold a rally and one-night protest encampment on the steps of City Hall (see page 11). As activists have tried to hold the mayor accountable, the city response has been to deny, stonewall, and attack homeless campers through the media as drug-crazed criminals. This is as wrong as wrong can be.
Homeless encampments have been a minor annoyance to some for decades. The sudden escalation of tactics by the Mayor has less to do with the nature of homeless campers than it does the changing face of Seattle. In the four-block area near Pike Place Market, four new towers are being built that add 505 new condos with an average value of $2 million each. Seattle is being remade, and the visible bottom end of the growing inequality that affects us all is less and less welcome.
We need your help to keep up the fight. We’re a little more than halfway to our fund drive goal of raising $90,000 over the holidays. A generous donor has committed $15,000 to a two-for-one match for all gifts of $100 or more from new donors, and $250 or more from those who are already supporters. Please use the form on the facing page or visit realchangenews.org today to support our important work.