A Seattle nonprofit whose volunteers have been picking up garbage across the city for years is facing a state investigation.
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has launched an investigation into We Heart Seattle and temporary staffing agency Uplift Northwest after receiving an outside report regarding safety procedures while its volunteers were cleaning up parks and encampments.
“L&I has two open inspections in response to a referral—meaning a report that came from someone other than an employee or employee representative—alleging improper handling of drug paraphernalia by workers,” a spokesperson for the agency said.
So far, no violations have been found. Founder Andrea Suarez expressed skepticism about the origin of the complaint, saying “I just think it’s a political hit from somebody.”
We Heart Seattle founder Andrea Suarez says she suspects politics may be behind a Washington state investigation targeting her privately funded nonprofit over its handling of discarded needles and fentanyl paraphernalia, an investigation L&I confirms was triggered by an outside referral rather than a complaint from an employee.
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) confirmed it opened an inspection of We Heart Seattle after receiving a referral alleging workers improperly handled drug paraphernalia during the organization’s cleanup operations. According to L&I, the allegation did not originate with an employee or employee representative and was initially submitted to the Department of Ecology before being forwarded to workplace safety officials.
That chain of events has Suarez questioning who filed the complaint—and why. “I just think it’s a political hit from somebody,” Suarez said during an appearance on The Ari Hoffman Show on Talk Radio 570 KVI.
For six years, We Heart Seattle has deployed volunteers and workers to remove trash, hypodermic needles, fentanyl foil and other drug debris from Seattle parks, sidewalks and homeless encampments. Suarez says the organization accepts no taxpayer funding and has become an outspoken critic of government policies that distribute drug paraphernalia while leaving neighborhoods to contend with what is discarded.
During an interview on a local podcast, Suarez detailed how she gave up her career in corporate America to start We Heart Seattle.
We Heart Seattle founder Andrea Suarez said she gave up a corporate career, invested $25,000 of her own money, and spent three years picking up trash for free before building a volunteer army that has removed 2.2 million pounds of debris from Seattle’s streets and encampments. So when a state investigation and public scrutiny of her nonprofit’s finances hit at the same time, she didn’t hold back.
“All of a sudden, who is We Heart Seattle? As if I’m some kind of grifter, who’s sacrificed everything to do this work,” Suarez said on “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio. “I mean, everything.”
The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries opened two inspections after a complaint alleging improper handling of hypodermic needles and fentanyl paraphernalia by We Heart Seattle volunteers. Suarez called the probe hypocritical, arguing the very materials her volunteers clean up are distributed by government harm-reduction programs.
“Would you like to meet me in an open-air drug market where people are shooting methamphetamines and smoking fentanyl? Because that’s my office,” Suarez said.
Suarez said We Heart Seattle has a comprehensive bloodborne pathogen plan posted on its website and that the investigation could ultimately strengthen safety standards across the board.
I’ve written plenty of articles of local and state governments cracking down on nonprofits that try to improve their communities. It’s almost as if the city knows it’s not doing its job and it doesn’t want any volunteer organizations showing it up.
Given that there have been no violations found, it seems that might be what’s happening here.