Asia Fields
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asiafields.bsky.social
Asia Fields
@asiafields.bsky.social
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Engagement reporter @propublica.org
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asiafields.bsky.social
People who experienced homeless encampment sweeps in Washington state and Tennessee wrote about the impact it had on their lives.

Our team @propublica.org added these to our page featuring stories from people across the country: projects.propublica.org/impact-of-ho...
A notecard with the prompt, "What is something that was important to you that was taken in a sweep? How did it impact you?" The handwritten statement below says, "My momma’s ashes were displayed on my table in my tent. I came back one day — and EVERYTHING was gone, including her ashes. They were clearly labled ‘In loving memory — my mom, my best friend…’ and her name. Her ashes were all that I had left of her. No one stored my stuff. I called tons of places and NO ONE knew anything. It is very difficult for me still, everyday. No warning, no remorse, nothing." A notecard with the prompt, "What is something that was important to you that was taken in a sweep? How did it impact you?" The handwritten statement below says, “It’s hard to narrow my list down. One particularly devastating (for me) sweep took EVERYTHING I owned at the time I was gone from my spot for a couple nights. Save for my wallet, ID, and the clothes on my back, I had not brought anything with me. Unaware of the sweep, I returned to find my tent, my cot, all my clothing, several files with important document, literally everything; all of it, gone.” A notecard with the prompt, "What is something that was important to you that was taken in a sweep? How did it impact you?" The handwritten statement below says, “Lost my clothes tents more than once all my personal items i.e. pictures family photos and kids birth certificates and it really sucked how they did it and bulldozed everything I owned litterally bulldozed it.” A notecard with the prompt, "What is something that was important to you that was taken in a sweep? How did it impact you?" The handwritten statement below says, “Winter bedding & personal memorabilia pictures, things that can’t be replaced. One winter in the middle of the night they came and took bedding only now they mess with us every day now I try to keep it to a backpack and cart try to.”
February 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM
asiafields.bsky.social
6) My colleagues Ruth Talbot and @nicolesantacruz.bsky.social got data and records from 14 cities with policies to store some items from homeless encampment sweeps. Of those, Portland stores the most items.

When we went to Portland’s warehouse, we saw rows and rows of shelves filled with bags.
The inside of a large facility. Three rows of large industrial shelves are full of clear garbage bags. A row of shelves in the back has coolers on top of it. An industrial shelf with coolers on top and clear garbage bags on the shelves below. In front of the shelf are various items, such as a folded up canopy, two strollers, a piece of artwork and a wheelbarrow with bags inside. Around two dozen bikes stored in two rows. A close-up photo of industrial storage shelves holding clear bags. One bag has a teddy bear inside. Many of the bags in the background have textiles, such as clothing, inside.
December 1, 2024 at 4:51 PM
asiafields.bsky.social
5) The contractors threw everything in garbage bags: Black ones would go to the dump, clear ones would go to the city’s storage facility. They gave Stephenie a card with a number to call if she wanted to pick up the clear bags once they were processed.

It was similar to this one.
Someone holds two cards similar to business cards in their hand. The cards say, "If your property was taken following a cleanup, you can retrieve it. Call 503-387-1336. Monday - Friday, 9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m. or Saturday, 10:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m. Please be ready to give the date your property was taken as well as the location it was taken from. Your property is held at least 30 days."
December 1, 2024 at 4:51 PM
asiafields.bsky.social
4) Stephenie said having her purse taken was the hardest. She was hungry, and her purse held her cash and food stamp card.
A notecard with a typed prompt and handwritten response from Stephenie. The prompt says, "What is something that was important to you that was taken in a sweep? How did it impact you?" The handwriting underneath says, "My purse was taken... It had everything I needed to survive in it. Not having these things mad my life so much harder & made my depression way worse."
December 1, 2024 at 4:51 PM