Posted on May 16, 2023

SEATTLE — A new group is patrolling the controversial area around Third Avenue in Downtown Seattle.

The nonprofit We Deliver Care was tapped by the city of Seattle to lead the Third Avenue Project, designed to bring order to the area that has been plagued by drugs, loitering and violence for decades.

There is no simple solution, but the team at We Deliver Care believes building trust with the people that frequent the corridor will make a difference.

"I think the one thing that's different here is we're here all day every day," We Deliver Care co-founder and CEO Dominique Davis said.

Sixteen hours a day, seven days a week members of WDC roam the area between Stewart and University streets.

They hand out water, snacks and cigarettes.

"Some of them have said they only listen to us,” supervisor Trey Kendall said. “Snacks and cigarettes are a great tool to get somebody's attention and say, ‘Hey man come walk with me.'"

The outreach team is on Third Avenue to deescalate situations and get people into some form of housing. Davis said they’ve collected more than 500 names since December. They work with shelters and social services to get those people into temporary and permanent housing.

"They're going to do the screening,” Kendall said to a man at the corner of Third Avenue and Pine Street. “Hopefully, we get you in by the end of next week.”

"I didn't know where to look. [I] didn't know who to talk to," Clarence Moses said.

Moses said he’s lived on the streets of Seattle since he was 12 years old. He said he was hooked on that life until he started to feel his age a few years ago.

Now, with the help of WDC, he’s been in a shelter since December.

However, not everyone is receptive to the help. That’s why the non-profit said they are willing to play the long game. Their goal is to build enough trust and familiarity that more will be willing to take their assistance.

"Third Avenue has always had its issues, and it’s never been able to be solved," Davis said.

Several months in, it’s not clear there are any noticeable changes, but Davis and Kendall said the time they’re putting in is necessary to improve the area.

"I'd love to be able to put them in places where they can work on addiction, mental health and then get help with employment,” Kendall said. “It’s a big challenge, because I don't think there's a lot of facilities that will address mental health and substance abuse."

Kendall and the other outreach workers have seen it all roaming up the busy street and traversing the adjacent alleys. They wear masks to avoid fentanyl exposure.

They’ve used Narcan more than 20 times to save the lives of drug users.

“Some days there’s none. Some hours there’s five,” Kendall said.

The staff at We Deliver Care was selected based on real-life experiences that can help them relate to the people they’re working with.

The team is close to 20 strong, and WDC hopes they’ll be able to grow in the future.

"We can use this as a zone to show the rest of the state - and the rest of the city - that if we poured enough resources if we put enough consistency and time into this, we could really start solving this," Davis said.

Original Article: Nonprofit using new approach to order on Seattle's Third Avenue