We Heart Seattle cleans up discarded needles that no one else will. Washington is investigating them.
There is something deeply backwards about what is happening to We Heart Seattle.
For nearly six years, the nonprofit’s team has gone into Seattle parks, greenbelts and neighborhoods to clean up abandoned tents, garbage, drug foil and used needles that the city government has ignored.
Now the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries is investigating We Heart Seattle over allegations that the organization improperly handled and collected hypodermic needles and fentanyl paraphernalia.
There is nothing unreasonable about expecting people who handle used needles to do so safely.
But there is a big difference between ensuring their team is protected and creating another bureaucratic obstacle for a community organization doing work government has repeatedly failed to do itself adequately.
And there is no evidence that We Heart Seattle’s cleanup program has created the kind of safety problem that would justify treating the organization as reckless.
“We have not had any safety incidents,” founder and Executive Director Andrea Suarez said in a video responding to the investigation. “We’re very proud of this work.”
They should be.
We Heart Seattle says it has removed more than 2.1 million pounds of trash from Seattle’s parks and shared spaces and helped 325 people off the streets. Its team has conducted hundreds of cleanups across the city.
This is not a group standing on the sidelines complaining about Seattle’s problems.
They are picking up the trash. They are restoring trails. They are removing dangerous drug debris from public spaces. They are talking with people living outside and helping connect them with services, treatment, shelter and housing.
In fact, the City of Seattle itself has previously recognized We Heart Seattle as a valuable partner, including selecting it to participate in a city-funded treatment referral pilot.
That makes the current investigation by our state government even harder to understand.
Government agencies distribute enormous quantities of drug-use supplies, including syringes and foil. When those materials are discarded in parks, sidewalks and green spaces, somebody has to clean them up.
Too often, that somebody is We Heart Seattle.
The organization also posted a photo it says shows a city contractor collecting discarded needles, raising a fair question about whether the standards now being scrutinized are being applied consistently.
The photo does not prove anyone violated a safety rule. But if L&I has concerns about We Heart Seattle’s procedures, the obvious response should be to identify the issue, explain what needs to change and help ensure they can keep doing this work safely.
What should not happen is for an investigation to consume time and resources, slow down cleanups or discourage their team while needles and drug debris remain scattered through public spaces.
“If we stop this work,” Suarez warned, “the needles and the foil will cause continued harm” to people using Seattle’s parks.
This is where Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson needs to step in and show some leadership.
She cannot order a state agency to end an investigation. But she can publicly recognize We Heart Seattle’s record, condemn any unnecessary effort to obstruct its work and make clear that community groups willing to step up and improve their neighborhoods should be treated as partners, not problems.
This should be an easy call.
Parents should not have to worry about discarded needles in a neighborhood park. Residents should not have to accept drug debris as a permanent feature of public spaces. And the people who are willing to clean it up should not be punished for doing the work government has left undone. We Heart Seattle has spent years showing what neighbors can accomplish when they decide not to walk past a problem and assume somebody else will handle it.
Our Government should be helping them, not getting in their way.
If you want to support that work, you can donate to We Heart Seattle here.