Deaths of homeless people in King County were already twice as high as the Washington state population. A recent study in the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA) looked at 23 cities, including Seattle, and found that continual “involuntary displacement” significantly increases hospitalizations and deaths. Imagine trying to transition out of homelessness, facing constant challenges like this, all topped by the continual threat of losing your meager tent, bedroll, or car, and everything you own.Įven worse, sweeps kill.
Sweeps risk loss of identification, paperwork, medications, and social connections. However, sweeps also push people deeper into the shadows, farther from geographies they know, disrupting connections to care providers and street outreach workers. Sweeps achieve little more than shuffling visible reminders of homelessness from one neighborhood to another, and then shuffling them back again. Until then, a ban during winter and extreme weather is a healthful first step. We further support a year-round ban on sweeps, at least until Seattle has enough dignified and suitable indoor space for all unsheltered people. As University of Washington public health faculty who have taught, conducted research, and developed policy on homelessness, we wholeheartedly support a winter sweeps ban.
0 kommentar(er)
