We Heart Seattle

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We Heart Seattle (WHS), formerly We Heart Downtown Seattle and I Heart Downtown Seattle, is a volunteer organization responding to homelessness in Seattle.^[1] The group organizes volunteer trash cleanups in public parks in which homeless people have established camps, primarily through a public Facebook group and Facebook events.^[2]

History[]

We Heart Seattle was incorporated as I Heart Downtown Seattle on October 29, 2020. Andrea Suarez formed the group and organized volunteers to collect trash that had been left in parks. She told The Jason Rantz Show on KTTH in January 2021 that she was motivated to start the organization by seeing volumes of trash and needles in Denny Park.^[3] KIRO-TV reported that she quickly attracted hundreds of like-minded people to volunteer.^[4]

Jason Rantz, writing nationally for Fox News, praised WHS for doing "more to address the problems at Denny Park than the city has done in years.".^[5] A Seattle Times opinion columnist praised citizen-led groups such as We Heart Seattle for taking responsibility and being active in cleaning up the city in ways that local government has not, and reported in August 2021 that the group had collected more than 150,000 pounds of trash and housed dozens of unsheltered people.^[6]

In November 2021, Seattle City Council member Dan Strauss and multiple officials from the City of Seattle and homelessness agencies asked We Heart Seattle to stop their activities in parks. On the Dori Monson Show, Suarez defended the group's actions and promised to continue their volunteering, saying that WHS removes garbage from camps with permission, and characterizing WHS's work as "a form of protest for a more beautiful and clean Seattle". She criticized city policies that mandate that organizations store homeless persons' belongings for 90 days before destroying them and suggested that city safety policies and union work rules are preventing any progress in cleaning up city streets.^[7] In response to the council instructions to stop work, Doug Dixon, general manager of Pacific Fishermen Shipyard in Ballard, said that most businesses in his neighborhood welcome WHS's cleanup efforts.^[8] Defying this request by city leaders to stop holding cleanup events, WHS volunteers collected and disposed of trash near a homeless encampment in Ballard; Suarez reported that they had now collected over 320,000 pounds of trash.^[9]

In November 2021, KVI radio host Ari Hoffman praised WHS for its outreach to Charles Woodward, a homeless man in Ballard nicknamed the "Lawnmower Man" for his collection of equipment.^[10] KOMO News reported later that month that WHS had helped Woodward, who was at odds with the community for about a year, to leave the neighborhood when the city services were unable to assist. Councilmember Strauss released a statement saying, “I’m glad when volunteers are able to interact positively with unsheltered residents.^[11] In February 2022, Woodward was still living in his vehicle on the streets of Ballard, "parked in a new location and causing the same problems." Of Woodward, Suarez said, "the person who was managing his housing portfolio was fired from the housing project". Suarez noted that Woodward is now working for We Heart Seattle, driving a truck for the organization and making $22 an hour.^[12]

In December 2021, Suarez was included in a Seattle Times editorial praising "people who have contributed to making our region a better place in 2021."^[13]

Services[]

Suarez has personally driven at least one homeless resident from a Seattle park to enter the Bybee Lakes Hope Center, a homeless shelter in Portland, Oregon.^[3] The facility’s director, Jeff Woodward, is a member of We Heart Seattle’s board of directors.^[14][15]

From October 2020 to March 2021 WHS organized trash cleanup events at Denny Park. In March 2021 the city of Seattle subsequently "swept" the park, removing all homeless persons and their belongings from the premises.^[16] One former park resident credited WHS with helping her and her partner get into an apartment, find furniture, and look for a job. Other residents reported not getting referrals. Observers criticized WHS for prioritizing trash removal over health services.^[17]

In late April 2021, Suarez described WHS's model as "daily intensive outreach" as WHS announced an intention to provide support, services, and housing options to residents of an encampment near Broadview-Thomson K-8 School in Seattle's Bitter Lake neighborhood.^[18] Erica C. Barnett reported that Suarez's actions at the encampment included photography and videography of the conditions and offers to take residents to facilities such as Bybee Lakes^[19] Real Change interviewed a resident of the camp who described Suarez's typical routine as walking around for roughly 30 minutes, taking photos or videos, offering to pick up trash, and giving interviews to news reporters about the state of encampments.^[20]

Criticism[]

Mutual aid groups have criticized We Heart Seattle and Suarez for actions that they say are harmful to the homeless communities in parks where We Heart Seattle holds cleanup events. At a cleanup in Seattle's Miller Park in January 2021, a park resident named Sam observed Suarez recommending that people pick up a bag of garbage in exchange for food although the community kitchen cooking at the event had no such requirement. Sam also observed Suarez comparing campers to "rats and dogs." Suarez later acknowledged the negative impact of her statements and apologized for early missteps.^[3] Alycia Ramirez, co-founder of mutual aid group Project Solidarity, and Aidan Carroll of the Cooperative Assembly of Cascadia have criticized We Heart Seattle's actions, voicing concerns to Suarez; both described her as non-receptive.^[6]

Volunteers unaffiliated with WHS have observed and documented a WHS volunteer opening and entering a homeless person's tent while the owner was not present. Suarez disavowed the actions of the volunteer, who has since apologized on social media.^[3]

Some activists opposed to WHS have yelled at WHS volunteers during park cleanups. Others have placed "not wanted" posters bearing Suarez's name and face on utility poles near parks, an act Suarez likened to "school yard bullying".^[21]

Seattle City Council members Tammy Morales and Andrew Lewis have publicly distanced themselves from WHS.^[21] After a WHS volunteer intruded into a tent near the Veterans Administration hospital parking lot in her district, Morales posted on social media, “If this happened to a housed person, this would be considered burglary.” Morales additionally criticized the "tough love" approach taken in response to homelessness. Lewis, who had previously met with WHS, told KOMO News that he does not condone private groups conducting trash cleanups.^[3]

Erica Barnett reported that Suarez had misrepresented a medical incident as a drug overdose when others present said it was a seizure.^[19]

On a conference call with City Councilmember Dan Strauss and "at least 10 other city leaders", WHS was told that its efforts were "disruptive and confusing" to homeless outreach efforts by the city and by Evergreen Treatment Services' REACH program.^[8]

References[]

External links[]

• Official website