Every night in King Country at least 8,600 people are homeless. Some are able to find beds in shelters, but almost a third are forced to find their own. Those who find themselves on the streets are often harassed by the police. They are told to keep moving, threatened with criminal trespassing, and have their belongings seized.

Through legislation and enforcement the city of Seattle is making it increasingly more difficult to be poor. Tim Harris, Executive Director of Real Change, says,

“These laws, which identify visible poverty as an indicator of social disorder and seek to eliminate potential sources of urban discomfort, pander to fear and deny the collective responsibility we have to one another. They solve nothing and are a victim-blaming, short-term response to wholesale system failure.”

The Real Change Organizing Project is committed to fighting laws that attack the visible poor, restrict poor people’s rights, and impact their ability to survive. We will support efforts that increase access to affordable housing, protect human and civil rights, and address inequality.

The Criminalization of Poverty campaign is an umbrella campaign under which the Stop the Sweeps and No New Jail campaigns reside.