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Seems like we’ve ruffled some feathers per letters to the editor in The Federal Way Mirror.
I’m going to waste a moment or two addressing a couple of assertions: 1. We very much want drug addicts to get help. We don’t believe moving them indoors without requiring treatment or use of mental health services is going to help the addicts. And make no mistake, “chronic homelessness” is code for chronic addiction. If you talk to any member of Stand Up, you would find out that we all have stories of addicts we love. Addicts that we want to see genuinely helped. 2. Our assertion that the vast majority of the homeless in our city are drug addicts is driven by our work in the camps. Talking to people. Offering services. Of ALL of the people to whom we’ve offered to get help, three have taken us up on it at all. 3. When you tolerate public drug use, people publicly use drugs. And their drug dealers come where they are. Drug dealers = turf wars. Drug addicts needing to pay their dealers = crime/theft. 4. We help people who want recovery. We help people who have fallen on hard times. We don’t spend time promoting those activities; we just do them. 5. I’m not terribly comfortable with the images on the front cover of our materials either. A lot of discussion went into what photos we would use. We finally agreed to use them because we’ve heard repeatedly that “things aren’t bad here. Crime/drug use hasn’t increased.” These photos were taken on 320th St!! 6. Our political issue is safety. It’s not abortion. It’s not anything but public safety. (With the exception of the upcoming gas tax increase - because SERIOUSLY?!). We would LOVE to be able to support a Democrat or Independent candidate because we are a non-connected pac. We have members who identify as Republican, Democrat, and Independent. There used to be such a thing as a law & order Democrat. The Democratic candidates currently running are so far left they DON’T believe that criminals should have to stop for cops, or that cops should be able to stop criminals unless they basically SEE them commit the crime, or that people who commit felonies should face a judge if they’re minors. Bring us a Democrat who wants safety for all of our citizens and believes in law & order and we’re in! Listen, I am sick and I’m using up energy I don’t have responding to a couple of letters to the editor because The Mirror has no interest in actually interviewing us or discussing our stance.
Many letters have been written to them by Stand Up members - none have been published. We genuinely want everyone to be healthy and succeed. (Except the drug dealers. They need to find Jesus or move on.) We don’t believe helping people to kill themselves is compassionate. Not toward those with addictions. Not toward our community. Also, I’d like to stop playing “Is that gunshots or fireworks?” I bet you would, too. So, hopefully, we made it to your door and you had a chance to think through your voting options. I hope you vote. And then we’ll see: Do the people of Federal Way want a safe, thriving community - or do they want to continue to virtue signal our city into the grave?