Seattle Mariners forced to tap volunteer clean up crews to deal with local squalor ahead of All Star Game

On Monday, the Mariners, the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, and Together Washington announced “…an opportunity for community members across our region to roll up their sleeves and help get Seattle ready for the national stage. The organizations have come together to host a community clean up dedicated to the restoration of key areas within the city inviting all community members to join in this impactful event” on June 23 from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.

Participants will gather at T-Mobile Park to clean up Pioneer Square, SODO, and the Chinatown/International District, “…which have long been integral parts of Seattle's cultural and historic fabric,” but are also the epicenter of Seattle’s homeless and drug problems.

Participating organizations include The SODO and CID Business Improvement Areas, The Alliance for Pioneer Square, the Downtown Seattle Association, the Midtown Improvement District, The Port of Seattle Friends of Waterfront Park, former Sounders players, and “devoted Seattle fans” with a goal of and dedicating “time energy and resources towards transforming the selected areas into pristine and welcoming spaces for both residents and visitors alike.”

Seattle’s rising crime, rampant homelessness, and spiraling addiction crises have been the focus of national media attention.

Last month, a 51-year-old man leaving a downtown Seattle hotel was stabbed multiple times during an attempted robbery. According to police, the 42-year-old suspect ordered the victim to hand over his cell phone outside the Courtyard by Marriot Hotel and when the victim refused, the suspect stabbed him multiple times.

A security guard who works in the area told KOMO News at the time, “I've seen machetes, knives, guns, all of it. We see drug use, but in Seattle, it’s been decriminalized, so police don’t do anything about it.”

The area is close to 3rd Ave and Cherry Street, where open-air drug use and drug dealing are common occurrences.

Diane Forsyth, the owner of Hole in the Hall BBQ on James Street told the outlet, “They’re throwing a lot of money and resources at the situation and I don’t think it’s fixing a lot right now. We have to step over garbage and human waste. I want to have a compassionate heart, but I don’t know what the fix it.”

Forsyth added, “They’ll sweep the street, get the encampment gone, and then the next day it’s back. We’re dealing with the drug addicted and mentally ill - that’s more of what’s around than workers."

As the city and county have spent nearly a billion dollars in a ten-year effort to end homelessness in Seattle that has lasted over 16 years and only gotten worse, volunteer organizations like We Heart Seattle are being hailed as having the most impact on Seattle’s squalor.

The group works to connect the homeless and addicts with supportive housing and other services and cleans up encampments.

Recently, during a clean up the group found “…a stolen $150,000 valued construction forklift.”

On Sunday, two RVs parked below the Holman Road Overpass were fully engulfed in flames and the bridge itself was scorched, leaving neighbors concerned it might collapse.

Last month, King County passed the 2020 annual total of drug overdoses, only 6 months into 2023, according to data from Seattle-King County Public Health. Fentanyl overdoses occur so often that in January, the King County medical examiner was running out of places to store the dead bodies.

Additionally, the US Postal Service had to stop delivery to certain parts of the city due to rampant mail theft.

Violent crime has gotten so bad in the wake of the defund the police movement by the Seattle City Council that blood banks are begging for donors. Seattle's violent crime rate reached a 15-year high in 2022, surpassing the record set in 2021, with violent crime increasing by 4 percent in 2022 compared to 2021, which was the previous all-time high in reported crimes.