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The photographs of the
relief depots from 1931 caught my eye, partly because there are
so few images on this topic from this time period in the Municipal Archives.
In the years following the 1929 stock market crash,
Seattle suffered a high rate of unemployment,
like many other parts of the United States, and by 1931, it was at 7%.
In response, Mayor Harlan established the Commission for Improved Employment
in the fall of 1931 to help the unemployed in Seattle obtain
work, as well as food and clothing through a district relief program.
The Commission organized relief into five geographic districts
and welcomed supplemental relief provided by the Community Fund,
the Unemployed Citizen League, Goodwill and others.
The depots began operation in November 1931.
The City appropriated $10,000 to purchase food to distribute
and many donations were received as well for both food and clothing.
The neighborhood depots were, in part, created to stimulate awareness
within neighborhoods of how the unemployed were benefiting
from the generosity of those in more fortunate circumstances.
A report on the depots was accompanied by photographs to illustrate the work
occurring at the depots.
I was struck by the way the photographs were meant as outreach
in order to help people understand that the unemployed were not unlike themselves,
except for the fact they’d lost their jobs.
I could see similarities to characterizations of the homeless today.
The photographs were taken at a variety of depot locations.
At the depot
at 12th and Yesler, supplies are loaded to be sent to the district depots.
Former Mayor Bertha K. Landes
oversaw the Women's Division of the Commission for Improved Employment.
This work included two sewing rooms where old clothes were renewed.
This image shows Mrs. C. S. Sapp
in the clothing department of Northeast Relief Depot at 1304 East 45th.
Other women in the Northeast Depot sort and clean clothing.
Shoes were repaired at the Northwest Relief Depot at 5419 Ballard Avenue.
The report stated that “hundreds of pairs of shoes donated
by Ballard citizens are rebuilt each week on donated machinery for distribution
to families of more than 700 unemployed.”
John B. Gough, volunteer manager and Raymond Peters are pictured.
The Rainier Relief Depot at 3805 Edmonds
Street is pictured here with women and children receiving shoes and clothing.
These men are at the North Central Relief Depot, 3122
Elliott Avenue receiving a week's provisions for their families.
The jug contains milk, and the sack on the floor contains
potatoes, flour, cans of vegetables and fruit, butter, and other supplies.
This image of the Georgetown Relief Depot shows people getting their supplies.
The boy with a bandage told the photographer he'd
just been released from the hospital and that it was his 10th birthday.
The relief depots were deemed a success in their first two months, in part
because of the community and neighborhood support.
A report provided on January 8, 1932, stated
there were 15,609 requests for food, of which
they were able to fill 9,834.
And 3,728 requests for clothing,
of which 2,280 were filled.
After Mayor Dore was elected in 1932, a new county welfare board was established
and a plan was made to close the City's relief depots.
State and federal aid would be coming soon.
The captions for these photographs provide valuable information
on who the individuals were,
where the photographs were taken and what was happening,
and show us what the interior of the relief depots look like.
The images illustrate the City working to help residents
in need during this period.
With the change in the political leaders and evolving state in federal aid,
the form of assistance was bound to change, illustrating the difficulty
of providing sustained relief to those in need during times of emergencies.
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