Stand Up Federal way
non-connected political action committee (PAC)
Image by mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
keep leadership accountable
Federal Way became a city so that King County could no longer dictate the decisions for our community. We want a return to city leadership that puts the needs of Federal Way residents above King County political games.
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Alpha Stock Images - http://alphastockimages.com/
advocate for community health & safety
We advocate for the health and safety of our community through polls, petitions, initiatives, participation in City Council meetings, and working with candidates and elected officials who align with our health and safety values.
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Image by Please Don't sell My Artwork AS IS from Pixabay
participate in the
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Our story.
In early 2021, long-time Federal Way resident Ken Blevens realized he was hearing more and more complaints on local Facebook groups about crime in our area. He decided to do something about it. He challenged others in the local groups to meet with him and see what they could do about the problem.
That first group of volunteers compared notes and made an important discovery: The spike in crime was directly related to the increased number of "homeless" camps in Federal Way. Only these camps weren't made up of people who had fallen on hard times. As they began visiting the camps and talking to their inhabitants, they found that what they all had in common was drug addiction.1
Ken connected with David Zumwalt, a recovered addict now works to support others in addiction recovery. David helped Ken -- and the other volunteers -- understand the psychological and physiological challenges to an addict. Real help for addicts comes in the tough love of letting them hit rock bottom. They must get to the place where it is absolute misery or recovery. The popular approach of providing things like clothing and needles enables continued addiction. Although advocates of such an approach believe they are being compassionate, we believe they are being cruel: They are essentially assisting in the addict's suicide by addiction.2
Together, David, Ken, and the group started cleaning up abandoned homeless camps. They spent hours carefully picking up used needles, piles and piles of garbage, and hauling away shopping carts. They also spent more time looking for resources for addicts who agreed to go to treatment. A couple of treatment programs were found and connections were made.
In the spring of 2021, Stand Up Federal Way was officially born.
The next step was closing down active encampments. Stand Up created a strategy: They began contacting the private property owners who owned the parcels on which the drug encampments were located. The plan was simple: The property owners would sign no trespassing orders with the Federal Way police department. Stand Up would go in and clean up the properties free of charge. Then, they would monitor the property and notify police if the trespass order was violated. Stand Up Federal Way volunteers would continue to offer to connect addicts ready to get clean with recovery services.
Stand Up Federal Way was surprised to learn that the property owners had already heard of Stand Up. However, it wasn't in they had hoped: The property owners had been told not to work with Stand Up.
Prior to this revelation, Stand Up Federal Way leadership had said they wanted to stay away from politics. This new information galvanized them in a new direction. If city, county, and state leadership made rules and laws conflicting with the health and safety of the Federal Way community, they would have to be challenged. Stand Up Federal Way is made up of members who are both Democrats and Republicans. Our focus is on community safety.
In 2021, Stand Up Federal Way formed a non-connected political action committee (PAC). The newly created PAC
helped elect four new Federal Way City Council members. We chose to support candidates who are committed to the prosperity and safety of Federal Way. They are all long-time Federal Way residents and several are local business owners. They answer to the residents of Federal Way -- not King County kingmakers.
In 2022, we will be looking at the Congressional and Legislative races. Again, we aren't interested in the labels of Democrat or Republican. We are looking to support candidates who will put the safety and well-being of residents in the 30th District FIRST.3
Also in 2022, Stand Up Federal Way began forming a separate entity: Stand Up Federal Way Community. SUFW Community has filed for 501c3 status. Community's focus is on doing the work that launched Stand Up in the first place: cleaning up the community and connecting addicts to recovery resources. The execution of these two distinct organizations are different but our ultimate goal remains the same: "We are residents and business owners of Federal Way working to reclaim our city through compassionate solutions regarding the addicted homeless
and their effect upon our community."
That first group of volunteers compared notes and made an important discovery: The spike in crime was directly related to the increased number of "homeless" camps in Federal Way. Only these camps weren't made up of people who had fallen on hard times. As they began visiting the camps and talking to their inhabitants, they found that what they all had in common was drug addiction.1
Ken connected with David Zumwalt, a recovered addict now works to support others in addiction recovery. David helped Ken -- and the other volunteers -- understand the psychological and physiological challenges to an addict. Real help for addicts comes in the tough love of letting them hit rock bottom. They must get to the place where it is absolute misery or recovery. The popular approach of providing things like clothing and needles enables continued addiction. Although advocates of such an approach believe they are being compassionate, we believe they are being cruel: They are essentially assisting in the addict's suicide by addiction.2
Together, David, Ken, and the group started cleaning up abandoned homeless camps. They spent hours carefully picking up used needles, piles and piles of garbage, and hauling away shopping carts. They also spent more time looking for resources for addicts who agreed to go to treatment. A couple of treatment programs were found and connections were made.
In the spring of 2021, Stand Up Federal Way was officially born.
The next step was closing down active encampments. Stand Up created a strategy: They began contacting the private property owners who owned the parcels on which the drug encampments were located. The plan was simple: The property owners would sign no trespassing orders with the Federal Way police department. Stand Up would go in and clean up the properties free of charge. Then, they would monitor the property and notify police if the trespass order was violated. Stand Up Federal Way volunteers would continue to offer to connect addicts ready to get clean with recovery services.
Stand Up Federal Way was surprised to learn that the property owners had already heard of Stand Up. However, it wasn't in they had hoped: The property owners had been told not to work with Stand Up.
Prior to this revelation, Stand Up Federal Way leadership had said they wanted to stay away from politics. This new information galvanized them in a new direction. If city, county, and state leadership made rules and laws conflicting with the health and safety of the Federal Way community, they would have to be challenged. Stand Up Federal Way is made up of members who are both Democrats and Republicans. Our focus is on community safety.
In 2021, Stand Up Federal Way formed a non-connected political action committee (PAC). The newly created PAC
helped elect four new Federal Way City Council members. We chose to support candidates who are committed to the prosperity and safety of Federal Way. They are all long-time Federal Way residents and several are local business owners. They answer to the residents of Federal Way -- not King County kingmakers.
In 2022, we will be looking at the Congressional and Legislative races. Again, we aren't interested in the labels of Democrat or Republican. We are looking to support candidates who will put the safety and well-being of residents in the 30th District FIRST.3
Also in 2022, Stand Up Federal Way began forming a separate entity: Stand Up Federal Way Community. SUFW Community has filed for 501c3 status. Community's focus is on doing the work that launched Stand Up in the first place: cleaning up the community and connecting addicts to recovery resources. The execution of these two distinct organizations are different but our ultimate goal remains the same: "We are residents and business owners of Federal Way working to reclaim our city through compassionate solutions regarding the addicted homeless
and their effect upon our community."
1 Non-drug using homeless steer clear of these homeless encampments. They know they are at risk of being victimized.
2 Overdose deaths rates continue to climb. https://publichealthinsider.com/2021/08/17/thirty-four-king-county-residents-died-from-fentanyl-drug-overdose-in-july-how-our-community-can-take-action/ https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/wa_lhj_quarterly_report_18_1_2_pub.html
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/public-health-emergency-king-county-on-track-to-set-new-record-for-deadly-drug-and-alcohol-overdoses-in-2021/
3 Federal Way is part of the Washington State 30th Legislative District https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_House_of_Representatives_District_30
2 Overdose deaths rates continue to climb. https://publichealthinsider.com/2021/08/17/thirty-four-king-county-residents-died-from-fentanyl-drug-overdose-in-july-how-our-community-can-take-action/ https://doh.wa.gov/sites/default/files/2022-02/wa_lhj_quarterly_report_18_1_2_pub.html
https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/public-health-emergency-king-county-on-track-to-set-new-record-for-deadly-drug-and-alcohol-overdoses-in-2021/
3 Federal Way is part of the Washington State 30th Legislative District https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_House_of_Representatives_District_30
