Andrea Suarez Discusses Seattle’s Public Safety Crisis and Accountability on The Pop-Up!

Andrea Suarez, the founder of the grassroots organization We Heart Seattle, recently appeared on The Pop-Up! in the Black Media Matter Studio where she dove into her experience as a community organizer and Belltown resident fighting for major changes in public safety in the Emerald City. 

Reviewing the Mayor's Safety Strategy

The conversation opened with a review of Mayor Katie Wilson’s public safety plan for Little Saigon and North Beacon Hill. The strategy centered on a neighborhood-based community policing model and the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program. 

Suarez, who stated she had just attended a public safety meeting in District 2, expressed skepticism regarding the current model's long-term efficacy.

"What we heard was not a lot of different plans than what we've done before. The LEAD program is a diversion program where, for example, you're still allowed to smoke fentanyl and get free housing with no requirement to enroll in treatment,” she said. “So I do take some issue that while I'm glad that there's an emphasis there--a little concerned that I'm not hearing anything different.”

When asked to elaborate on what an alternative policy might look like, Suarez highlighted models used in cities like San Francisco, which transitioned away from diversion to implement a "three strikes" approach for low-level retail theft. Under that system, individuals are given a choice between a felony charge or entering a six-month mandated treatment program, she said.

"Diverting and hoteling people instead of giving them a choice—jail or treatment—is really just prolonging them in addiction and eventual death,” Suarez said. 

Ground-Level Observations and Policy Critiques

Suarez shared data gathered through We Heart Seattle's weekly community cleanups. She noted that the group has collected over two million pounds of trash and hundreds of thousands of pieces of drug paraphernalia from public spaces. Furthermore, she stated that the organization has discovered 13 deceased individuals across various parks, vehicles, and encampments over the last six years.

Suarez linked these conditions to legislative changes, specifically pointing to a 2021 shift that downgraded simple narcotics possession from a felony to a gross misdemeanor. According to Suarez, this policy shift corresponds with a rise in regional homelessness and fatal drug overdoses.

"Allowing these tents to proliferate in these shared spaces, to allow child abuse, trafficking, and neglect on all levels, it's just enabling, and we have to really look closely at the law,” she said. 

To illustrate her concerns, Suarez displayed a public health resource kit distributed within King County, which included fentanyl foil, cookers, tourniquets, and pipes. 

“This is enabling. You can write your lawmaker right now and your council member saying defund these enabling products,” she said. 

Neighborhood Impact and the World Cup

The conversation turned to the broader socio-economic landscape of Seattle, reviewing a Seattle Times article about the legacy of the World Cup in Washington. While the host city received praise for its execution, infrastructure investments, and waterfront art installations, Suarez drew attention to disparities affecting the Chinatown International District (CID).

According to Suarez, CID merchants experienced significant economic challenges during the tournament. She stated that the area functioned as a "containment zone" for hundreds of displaced, drug-addicted homeless individuals who were pushed out of primary tourist zones and into nearby locations, notably public parks. 

"Go shop and eat in the Chinatown International District, because they felt really left out of a lot of the perks that the rest of us got to enjoy,” she said.

The "Treatment First" Framework

Suarez detailed her stance on the local debate between "Housing First" and "Treatment First" strategies. Clarifying that her recommendations target the high-crisis demographic occupying unsheltered spaces, rather than struggling veterans, seniors, or couch-surfing single mothers, she advocated for mandatory medical intervention over immediate independent housing placement.

Suarez stated that approximately half of the unhoused individuals she encounters in public parks have previously been allocated tiny homes or subsidized housing units. She identified the primary policy bottleneck as a systemic reluctance to mandate involuntary holds under Washington's 2018 legislation, known as Ricky's Law, for individuals who lack the cognitive faculties to care for themselves.

Looking ahead, Suarez noted that We Heart Seattle, which operates entirely on private funding, is expanding its scope to include educational media and storytelling to directly inform voters.

"We are a media organization and we are putting these stories out... to educate voters. We've gone too far in one direction. We need to bring it back to the center,” she said. 

Learn more about We Heart Seattle at weheartseattle.org 

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