Andrea Suarez is founder and Executive Director of We 💚 Seattle — an action-based, boots-on-the-ground movement that organizes trash cleanups in our public spaces and offers resources to those in need.
(February 19, 2024)
2020 was the summer of social discontent. Downtown Seattle took the brunt of the violence, expressed by many, in the name of social justice.
That story has been told, and will be interpreted for years to come. I want to share another story. This too is about direct action.
On Sunday May 31st 2020, thousands of volunteers came from all over with brooms, dustpans and other cleaning supplies to pick up the pieces of a ravaged city core. People of all ages, with no formal coordination, worked to remove graffiti, hang plywood on broken shop windows and sweep glass.
It was truly moving to see so many people love Seattle. The inspiration led to the creation of We Heart Seattle (WHS), just three months after that initial cleanup.
A volunteer, grassroots, non-partisan movement was founded from a simple realization — we can keep going! People can turn out together and clean Seattle through organized litter picks.
Our city badly needed the help. Garbage was piling up. There were used drug needles in our parks, playgrounds and on sidewalks. Mounds of trash were strewn on the slopes of historical greenbelts, urban hiking trails, parks and lots.
Piles of garbage are ugly and a health hazard. It gets worse considering the tragedy and human toll of not meeting the needs of the addicted and mentally unstable.
The summer of 2020 produced a sea change of attitudes regarding many aspects of social relations. There were new ideas regarding criminal justice. Many of these novel concepts were effectively laissez-faire social policy. It was as if living on the street, or in a camp in squalor, was somehow normal. This appalling social condition was also used to promote ideology. New government programs, establishing spending authorities, were created at the expense of millions of tax dollars.
I will not get into this complex political situation. We Heart Seattle are a nonpartisan group. We are a privately funded, direct action effort, and we make a real difference.
WHS volunteers have clocked more than 12,000 hours removing in excess of 1 million pounds of trash; including 35,000 dirty drug user needles. At over 325 events, we have restored thousands of acres of city, county and state land for all to enjoy. Civic pride, manifested through action produces results. Pride and compassion are not mutually exclusive.
Empty buildings were squatted, fostering drug related activity and crimes of all kinds
People living in distressed areas got to know us. Many allowed volunteers (and two paid, fulltime staff) to offer individualized care. This helped many in need to get on a path to self-sufficiency. With private funding and a compassionate model of intervention, more than 200 people exited homelessness with our program.
We’ve gained experience as we enter our fourth year.
Many people on the street or in the camps don’t understand us at first. We are not a government service. We do not offer injection needles or pipes to enable drug addiction. When we show up to clean garbage, there’s a commitment to build trust. It is about mutual respect and connection with human beings in need of help.
Volunteers learned that not every tent was a home and not everyone on the street scene was homeless. Then there was the stuff — piles of it. We recognize some items needed to go to the dump, while other items merited storage. Cars needed repair, or just tires pumped and gas. We try to help as best we can.
There is a bigger picture than just litter pickup. WHS is not a faith based program, nevertheless, WE 💚 SEATTLE carries hope; because when hope is alive, anything is possible. We are a platform for community engagement and fellowship. We offer a place to serve and also learn. By volunteering, through real experience, you can be your very own educator and answer your own questions.
That said, you can just put on your work clothes and fill garbage bags with the satisfaction you pitched in to make a difference.
No one should live on the streets or in squalid camps. There is a new direction and leadership on the Seattle City Council. I will leave it to them to create policy solving these problems. In the meantime, there is hope as long as we love Seattle.
CASCADE PARTY of WASHINGTON