NEWYou can now listen to articles!
The founder of a Seattle nonprofit that cleans up discarded drug paraphernalia distributed through city and county harm reduction programs says she was stunned to learn her organization is now under state investigation over how it handles those same supplies.
Andrea Suarez is the founder of We Heart Seattle. She rallies volunteers to pick up and dispose of needles, smoking supplies such as pipes and foil, and other drug-use items distributed through King County “harm reduction” programs. Critics argue the policies can enable continued drug use rather than moving people toward treatment and recovery.
“One of the biggest advocacy work I have done is that I go to the needle exchange and I get what they call the ‘party kit,’ and I demonstrated that our King County ‘Health’ Department is handing out cookers and tourniquets and glass pipes an paraphernalia to do drugs,” Suarez told Digital. “I was referring to this ‘party kit’ as a ‘suicide kit’ with very little, if no information on where to get medical detox.”
SEATTLE CLEANED UP FOR THE WORLD CUP BUT ONLY WHILE THE WORLD WAS WATCHING, COMMENTATOR SAYS
Andrea Suarez cleans up drug paraphernalia with her organization We Heart Seattle. (We Heart Seattle)
Suarez has been working on her mission of cleaner streets, parks and playgrounds for seven years, and We Heart Seattle has logged more than 50,000 hours of volunteer service. Founded in 2020 as a solo operation, Suarez has built an army of hundreds of volunteers over the past six-and-a-half years.
The group is now facing a state workplace-safety investigation, which Suarez says is its first government probe.
We Heart Seattle is under investigation by the Washington Department of Labor & Industries following a complaint alleging “improper handling and collection of hypodermic needles and fentanyl paraphernalia,” according to documents sent to Suarez from the Washington Department of Labor & Industries and viewed by Digital.
SEATTLE MAYOR GRILLED ON PUBLIC SAFETY CRISIS AS RESIDENTS DEMAND ANSWERS
Suarez denied wrongdoing and said the group uses gloves, grabbers and sharps-disposal procedures, while pointing to safety guidance posted on We Heart Seattle’s website. That plan includes guiding supporters on what to wear to protect themselves from potential hazards, including wearing long pants and sleeves and closed-toed boots. The website also provides guidance for volunteers to stay safe while picking up debris.
Suarez argued there is a double standard in the state scrutinizing how her group handles discarded drug-use supplies while local harm reduction programs distribute some of the same types of materials.
Heroin syringes hang stuck in a tree at a homeless encampment on March 13, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. (John Moore/Getty Images)
SEATTLE MAYOR SAYS SOBRIETY WON’T BE REQUIRED AT NEW HOMELESS SHELTER
“We have been out here for … going on seven years every day, every weekend we’re out there picking up needles and trash. And for my ‘thank you’ letter from the government, it was this letter saying, ‘you’re under investigation for allegedly improperly handling this very equipment that they hand out with no instructions.”
Suarez said that after learning of the investigation, she visited a harm reduction site and asked for specific guidance on handling “fentanyl foil” and other dangerous drug supplies, but said staff did not provide her with such instructions.
The Washington Department of Labor & Industries told Digital that the investigation stems from a complaint made by someone outside of the organization.
TAXPAYER-FUNDED ‘METH MANSION’ UNDER FIRE AS CRIME CONCERNS MOUNT AROUND HOMELESS CAMPUS
Spokesman Matt Ross said inspections can take up to six months, and that once complete, the results are made available to the public. He said there’s a related probe into a temporary staffing agency, but declined to provide specifics.
“Inspectors may issue violations if an organization isn’t meeting those requirements, and may also issue violations for other safety hazards they observe in the course of an inspection,” he said. “The inspectors also work with the organizations on the best way to address the hazards they find. Potential penalties will depend on the specifics of the violations.”
Suarez criticized state and local harm reduction policies, arguing they contribute to the conditions her volunteers are cleaning up.
We Heart Seattle volunteers pose for a photo next to a truck and propane gas tanks. (We Heart Seattle)
SOCIALIST MAYOR KATIE WILSON SILENT AMID PROTESTS OVER ‘HUMAN DUMPING GROUND’ AHEAD OF US WORLD CUP MATCH
“You have to look at the optics of a state, a county, a city level that allows people to openly use lethal and illegal narcotics like methamphetamines and fentanyl, and they give you the paraphernalia to use those drugs on our taxpayer dime, to use in public spaces with no consequences … and then I’m over hear trying to manage the problem, clean up our dog parks, clean up our children’s merry-go-rounds, ensuring our playgrounds don’t have needles and foil sticking up through the grass, and I’m the one under investigation,” said Suarez.
“The optics are egregious,” she said.
She also painted a gruesome picture of life in Seattle’s public spaces.
SEATTLE SENIORS BEG CITY FOR HELP AS ‘ABSOLUTE ANARCHY’ ERUPTS OUTSIDE LGBTQ HOUSING COMPLEX
“I think I’m going to go after the state to say, ‘why aren’t you training me before I go into our city library when there’s drug addicts slumped over in all of the computer chairs, using our bathrooms, shooting drugs and leaving their paraphernalia all around the perimeter, putting me or my child or dog at risk of picking something up and getting a blood borne pathogen infection of sorts,’ right?” she said. “So this whole city is a blood borne pathogen risk for everybody. I think that’s why people don’t go to these public places anymore, and they really frankly have been overtaken by drug users.”
Police officers check on a man who said he has been smoking fentanyl in downtown Seattle on March 14, 2022 in Seattle, Washington. Use of the powerful opioid has surged in the last several years, especially in Seattle’s large homeless community. (John Moore/Getty Images)
Suarez said she plans to look into whether her group was unfairly targeted. She described herself as relatively apolitical before starting the nonprofit, but said its cleanup work has increasingly drawn the organization into political disputes over Seattle’s drug and homelessness policies.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE APP
King County defended its harm reduction approach, saying it is intended to reduce overdoses while connecting people with treatment and other services.
“The influx of fentanyl led to a sharp rise in fatal overdoses across the U.S and in King County. Our comprehensive approach to overdose response and recovery focuses on getting more people into treatment and preventing more overdoses,” spokesperson Sharon Bogan said, adding that the county saw a “promising overall decline in overdoses” of 32% between 2023 and 2025.
Representatives form the city of Seattle did not return a request for comment.
