Reporting by Cesar Canizales

Faced with a dramatic rise in deaths due to fentanyl overdoses and with a downtown area that is still reeling from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell announced Monday a series of executive actions to increase substance abuse treatment and law enforcement to revitalize downtown.

“If downtown isn’t safe, if it doesn’t feel safe, we will fail as a city,” Harrell said.

The mayor said his downtown activation plan includes working with federal agencies to crack down on major illegal drug traffickers.

“If you are harming our communities by this activity, we have to coordinate our efforts in making sure that harm stops and that it's dealing with the selling and trafficking of these deadly drugs,” he said. “We have to hold those people accountable.”

The mayor said that in 2022 fentanyl-involved deaths increased to 712 — 85% more than the previous year.

Seattle Police Chief Adrian Diaz stressed that his department is going after the major dealers, not the street sellers.

“In these encounters, a lot of the current people that are distributing—small time distributors—are current users who are really just trying to keep, maintain their habit. What we’ve actually been focused on is large-scale distributors,” said Diaz.

Markham McIntyre, who heads the Seattle Office of Development, said his department surveyed residents, groups and organizations to find out what is needed to get people to go downtown. He said safety and health are the top priorities for people who want to visit downtown.

“Our neighbors and residents and visitors also want to experience more. They want more diverse small businesses,” McIntyre said. “They want more affordable arts, culture and entertainment experiences. And we heard very loudly was that people want to bring their families downtown. They want more family-oriented activities.”

The mayor’s order includes efforts to help people with addiction, including a pilot program to offer low-dollar gift cards to encourage them to seek treatment, and funding a facility to treat people who have overdosed. 

“The fentanyl crisis on our streets is causing death and disorder. We can’t mince words there. We have an obligation to do more for those suffering from substance abuse disorder for all of our neighbors," the mayor said.

Harrell’s order would also expand the Seattle Fire Department’s Health One program, a mobile unit that was launched in 2019 to help individuals in crisis. An overdose unit would quickly respond to non-fatal overdose victims and offer support on a longer-term basis. 

Seattle Fire Chief Harold Scoggins explained how Health One will work in those situations.

“What's going to happen now is Health One is also going to respond to that overdose. But Health One comes with case managers and firefighters who are trained differently to actually talk to folks and really explain the resources that are available to them,” Scoggins said. “So, when the fire units leave, the police units leave, Health One will still be on the scene and they're going to offer up all the resources. So not just the day of; they're going to check in the day after and the day after.”

Seattle City Councilmember Sara Nelson said she has personal experience with addiction and sought treatment that she credits with saving her life.

“We have got to stabilize people and incentivize recovery and also expand services and remove barriers to rehab so that if people want to get and stay clean, they can,” Nelson said.

The Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce said in a statement that the mayor’s plan is a “down payment on the bold actions needed to address the devastating fentanyl crisis, revitalize downtown, and stimulate economic activity.”

Harrell said part of the plan is to fill vacant store fronts, open opportunities for food truck operators and request the state to issue “Sip ‘n Stroll” permits that will allow people to enjoy alcoholic drinks outdoors during First Thursday Art Walks.