We Heart Seattle

Zero Solutions Seattle Mayor Katie Wilson is getting hammered after another disruptive sweep under her new administration. But the criticism isn’t coming from her comrades with far-left activist group Stop the Sweeps Seattle. Homeless drug addicts say her promise to do things differently from the previous administration hasn’t materialized. The vast majority of the people living at the MLK Jr. Way encampment rejected services and shelter options Wednesday morning, then fled into the deep woods. We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez calls them the “service resistant.” And right now, Mayor Wilson has offered zero solutions to address this group causing the most harm to themselves and the community.

A note to readers: This is an uncomfortable story, as are my conclusions about how society might best address the situation it describes. I prize individual freedom and limited government, and recognize that sanctioning government force in the application of law can be a slippery slope. Yet, neglecting justice to avoid the risks of misapplying it is also a harmful slippery slope, and we see the destructive effects of that error in every city with permissive policies toward drug use, prostitution, and disorder. Ultimately, I can’t ignore the fact that children have a natural right to the dutiful care of their parents. With a wise and creative application of law, it may be possible to uphold a child’s rights even Read More ›

“There’s a Big Drug Dealer Down Here” After dozens of neighbor complaints about homeless drug addicts destroying Seattle’s Dr. Jose Rizal Park, the fencing is back up and major renovations are about to get started. But We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez says the dealers and addicts are now moving further into wooded areas in Beacon Hill and the city is barely enforcing public camping laws in this area. Suarez is also calling out Seattle Parks Superintendent AP Diaz for being MIA.

Drug Addiction Overruns the City Streets Since the weekend, I have now counted more than 100 drug tents in Seattle’s Chinatown-ID and Beacon Hill neighborhoods which are next to each other. This is obviously an undercount since I can’t be everywhere. Drug addicts have also taken over Dr. Jose Rizal Park. Since outgoing Mayor Bruce Harrell has given up on the city, I am keeping a running list of encampments for Mayor-elect Katie Wilson. But it’s unclear if she will do anything about it. Btw, stop enabling these addicts by giving them free tents. The non-profits and virtue signaling Seattle residents are keeping vulnerable people on the streets. Get them into shelters, drive them to treatment, or send them home. Read More ›

Seattle’s incoming mayor, Katie Wilson, will inherit a homelessness crisis that will define her ability to lead. Seattle’s homeless population needs more than another round of aspirational promises. They need and deserve an operational reset grounded in compassion, accountability, and the courage to confront realities the city has failed to address for years. She must replace press releases and ceremonial groundbreaking for housing that may never materialize with programs that support the homeless in reclaiming their lives from the grip of untreated mental illness, addiction, and dangerous encampments that have taken root throughout the city. The scale of Seattle’s crisis is staggering. HUD’s 2024 Point-in-Time count identified 16,868 people struggling with homelessness in King County — 7,058 sheltered and 9,810 Read More ›

As Seattle considers sanctioned homeless camps again, we stand at a familiar crossroads. I’ve spent five years with We Heart Seattle doing boots-on-the-ground outreach and cleanup, alongside lived experience advisors who have worked in and managed prior sanctioned camps, including Share/Wheel, Nickelsville, Camp United We Stand, and run low-barrier shelters. We’ve seen what fails. More importantly, we know what could work. The skepticism about sanctioned camps is warranted. Past attempts became semi-permanent encampments with no path forward. But dismissing the concept entirely ignores a critical gap in our system: where do people go when they’re too unstable for housing but desperate to get off the streets? Seattle’s homeless crisis isn’t one problem—it’s many. The “crisis population” living on our streets Read More ›

Last week’s The Great Debate hosted by The Emperor’s Group and We Heart Seattle at the Washington Athletic Club was attended by hundreds of voters. And one thing was abundantly clear: Seattle’s approach to our behavioral health crisis needs immediate reinforcement. As someone working daily with the city’s most vulnerable residents, I believe we can chart a compassionate course that honors both human dignity and public safety. The solution isn’t about choosing between “Harm Reduction” drug policies and accountability—it’s about creating a comprehensive system that meets people in crisis where they are and guides them toward recovery and independence. At We Heart Seattle, our street team—composed entirely of people in recovery—connects two to three individuals to treatment every week. This Read More ›

Exclusive Controversial homeless services provider Plymouth Housing banned me, We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez and podcaster Brandi Kruse from a secret ground breaking ceremony in Redmond, WA. But I exposed them anyway. “Our Faces Were Plastered Everywhere” On Wednesday, Plymouth hosted a private ceremony at the Hilton Garden Inn. It was invite only. Sources told me photos of our faces were plastered everywhere and security was told to keep us out. Brandi Kruse’s Reporting Kruse has been annihilating Plymouth. Our Report on Low Barrier Housing So has Suarez. She helped me expose all the crime, chaos, and death at Plymouth facilities. Plymouth Housing/PorchLight Chaos And lately, I’ve been ferociously covering the Plymouth Housing/PorchLight campus disaster in Bellevue. Residents are now Read More ›

Breaking A shooting in Seattle’s Little Saigon neighborhood sent people running for cover late Friday afternoon. Witnesses say a White male unloaded several shots from a car window, targeting another man near the corner of the problematic 12th Ave & Jackson St intersection. Seattle Ranks Fourth Worst for Crime in Nation The victim was shot in the arm but is expected to survive. We Heart Seattle’s Andrea Suarez and I were doing outreach when the commotion broke out. This violence is being fueled by drugs and is another reason why Seattle ranks fourth worst in the nation for total crime, nearly triple the national average. Out-of-Touch Leaders Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell has lost control of public safety in this predominantly Read More ›

Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands After years of failure and neglect under Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and certain city councilmembers, an insurgent group of Lake City neighbors are now turning to We Heart Seattle for help. They’re taking matters into their own hands and forming a community coalition to address homeless drug encampments and crime before it’s too late. The recent murders at Virgil Flaim Park pushed them over the edge and they’re now preparing to publicly shame politicians into action.