In the records received as part of a recent FOIA request we opened with the city of Seattle, we found an email written to the Human Services department by a woman reporting an experience her homeless son had with We Heart Seattle.
She stated that Andrea Suarez and members of We Heart Seattle waited for a camper (her son) to leave his site and then demolished it. When they saw him returning, they rushed to their vehicle and fled the scene, leaving the wreckage out in the pouring rain.
No offers of help were ever made.
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I am writing to let you know about my son and my experience with the non-profit organization ‘We Heart Seattle’ and their CEO Andrea Suarez.
Unfortunately my son is homeless, and has been living in a tent on a small strip of vacant land at 105th and Evanston in Greenwood. He is not a trouble maker and keeps to himself. He also keeps his area cleaned up the best he can.
Without any notice or offers of help of any kind, Andrea Suarez and members of her vigilante group waited until my son was away from his tent, rushed in, and completely demolished it, leaving and destroyed all of his belongings (which are very few) and left them in the pouring rain. Lead by Andrea, when they saw him returning to the site they hopped into their car and sped off! They could care less about helping him or even giving him a chance to move his stuff. I feel at the minimum they should replace his tent and belongs from Andreas’ salary.
Their website paints a very different picture about how they help the homeless. I have heard several news reports recently about this organization overstepping to ‘help’ the homeless without being trained or authorized by the city of Seattle. I would think that Seattle would screen organizations, especially non profits soliciting donations, much more carefully before allowing them to operate.
I understand homelessness is a big issue in Seattle, however we must treat these people with respect and kindness as we are helping them navigate their future.
Thank you for your time. I hope something will be done now to stop this organization.
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