Skip to main content

You make this possible. Support our independent, nonprofit newsroom today.

Give Now

PHOTOS: One night on Seattle's prostitution strip

Earlier this month, when photographer Mike Kane went looking for a Seattle woman to share her story of being a prostitute on Aurora Avenue North, he heard about Ericka Frodsham.

She was ready to tell her story, someone told Kane. She didn't have a phone, so she would have to call him. On the day they were supposed to meet, Frodsham, 36, had a run-in with police. She was devastated, worried she would miss him.

But she made the appointment, and she showed Kane around Aurora. She also told him her story.

She had troubles as a young woman, she said, but she cleaned up and went to school. She became a nurse and had three kids.

Read the Local Wonder story: Why Is There So Much Prostitution On Aurora Avenue?

But she tired of the clean life, she said, and then she was fired for stealing pharmaceutical drugs. She lost custody of her daughters.

Frodsham has had pimps before, she told Kane, but she's currently working alone. She lives in motels, earning enough during the day to pay for a night. She still uses drugs.

Below are the photos Kane took that night.

Why you can trust KUOW