COMMUNITY

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to Mobilize our collective strength as a community to foster Outreach to all Mercer Islanders so we can work together to promote safety, inclusivity and well-being in our public spaces. This includes creating educational empowerment, supporting sound public policy, engaging the community and encouraging well thought out planning & educational outreach within our City, our Schools and our Parks.

MOMS for Safe MI is united by the common goal of creating a safer, more inclusive, more secure community for all residents.

WHO WE ARE

MOMs (MOMS stands for Mobilize Outreach Mercer Islanders) for Safe Mercer Island (M4SMI) is a nonpartisan local grassroots advocacy group founded by Island parents in 2016 to address the public safety and wellbeing of kids, families and all Island residents. M4SMI is focused on improving & maintaining the safety, accessibility and usability of our public spaces here on Mercer Island so they remain welcoming and safe for the whole community.

M4SMI is one of Mercer Island’s fastest growing nonpartisan resident advocacy groups, united in their efforts to improve and maintain public safety in MI parks, schools and beyond.

All are welcome to join M4SMI and we encourage every person interested in public policy which focuses on safety, accessibility, the wellbeing of our youth and preserving our public spaces, to join us in our efforts.

M4SMI is a non-partisan community organization and is not not affiliated with any other group, political party or platform. M4SMI is not a PAC and does not fund candidates' campaigns. M4SMI advocates for and supports policies, projects and elected & appointed officials in a non-partisan manner. M4SMI endorses candidates for public office who have a demonstrated commitment to public safety and accessibility. Our goal is to enact outcomes which further our efforts as outlined in our mission and vision statements.

M4SMI believes that the inclusivity and belonging of EVERY Island resident is at the cornerstone of well-being & safety within our community. M4SMI supports diversity & inclusion and we foster this core belief in every single policy and project that we work on, year after year.

HOW IT STARTED

M4SMI was founded in 2016 by six Island parents who were focused on improving safety protocols and lockdown procedures within our local elementary schools.

In 2016, three of the four Island elementary schools had unsecured front entrances with open access to our elementary school buildings. M4SMI worked with the MISD Superintendent, School Board and school administrators to ensure that safe entrances were installed and that perimeter security was improved at three of the four MISD elementary schools. The newest elementary school, Northwood, was built to modern safety standards, but the other three elementary schools lagged behind, exposing significant gaps in security. Utilizing an independent safety analysis which was completed for our district in 2012 (following the Sandy Hook tragedy), M4SMI garnered funding & support from the school board that lead to the adoption of improved safety protocols and substantial security upgrades. M4SMI successfully advocated for the approval and implementation of the secure access entrances you now see in all four of our elementary schools and the lockdown protocols as outlined in this third-party analysis of safety recommendations. This successful implementation of good public policy and recommended best practices to improve school safety, was their first organized effort and they quickly realized there was much more work to be done. And so, this grassroots organization was born!

M4SMI WAS FOUNDED IN 2016 BY ISLAND PARENTS

HOW IT’S GOING

M4SMI has worked collaboratively with nonprofits, local advocacy groups, PTAs, government agencies and elected and appointed officials to encourage sound policies and actions which will yield positive outcomes for all of our residents.

M4SMI will continue to work towards enhancing and maintaining the safety and accessibility of our schools, parks and public spaces, protecting our green spaces and ensuring that public transportation is implemented safely in this community.

Safe public spaces extend far beyond our parks and schools. Educational empowerment is necessary in all of the “places” where community members convene, including online. M4SMI continues to work towards helping Island youth remain safe as they navigate the internet, in particular as it relates to youth mental health & substance use. Our group has partnered with non-profits, local experts, governmental agencies and elected officials to increase awareness around issues such as children’s mental health, suicide prevention, youth internet safety, social media, personal technology usage in schools and fentanyl education/overdose prevention.

M4SMI supports our first responders and has worked to gain community support and funding for modernized tools and additional resources for our public safety agencies.

M4SMI will continue to advocate for the programs, policies and tools which improve the safety and accessibility of our community.

M4SMI IS A grassroots EFFORT TO IMPROVE public safety

Our vision is to help maintain a thriving community on Mercer Island where everyone feels safe, supported & included.

M4SMI WORK IN OUR COMMUNITY

Worked with MISD superintendent and school board to obtain funding for and implementation of secure entrances at three Mercer Island elementary schools and improved perimeter security.
Advocated for the successful procurement & implementation of Automatic License Plate Readers (ALPR) for MIPD patrol cars. ALPR is a technology utilized by surrounding cities, and Mercer Island had not yet invested in this technology. The implementation of ALPR has been a success, enhancing MIPD crime detection and prevention.
Worked with City Council, MIPD and community stakeholders to gain approval of additional full-time officers to be stationed near the Sound Transit light rail and in the downtown core of Mercer Island.
Worked with regional transit authority, City of Mercer Island, MIPD, City Council and community stakeholders to increase awareness and create better outcomes related to public safety surrounding the Sound Transit light rail station, which is adjacent to Residential and Park zones and has complex pedestrian and vehicle interface.
Worked with MIPD to help launch/test run the Virtual Block Watch program.
Worked with City Council, Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department, Mercer Island Preschool Association, Rare Disease Advocates, Rotary Club of Mercer Island and many community members to advocate for and help design and fund the first inclusive playground on Mercer Island, Mercerdale Playground (Train Park).
Worked with MIPD, City Council and the broader community to advocate for the adoption and implementation of ordinance 21-C02, which expanded the no- encampment laws that existed in MI parks to include MI school grounds, public rights of way and green spaces. This ordinance reinforced the City's ability to connect unhoused individuals with services and the inherent need to help people struggling rather than leaving houseless persons to suffer on our streets, school grounds and rights-of-way as we see in other parts of this region. M4SMI garnered the support of more than 1,300 community members who signed a petition and/or testified in support of passing ordinance 21C-02. Since this ordinance’s adoption in 2021, there have been no arrests for camping, as MIPD has utilized this legislation as a tool to connect people to help that they otherwise could not initiate on their own. M4SMI are regular volunteers at Sophia Way for many years, and we welcome the community’s help to support unhoused individuals. Sophia Way is a Woman’s Shelter that the City of MI partners with to help house & give life skills to women experiencing homelessness.
Worked with City Council and Mercer Island Parks and Recreation department to advocate for, help design and help prepare the site for the new Bike Skills Area by removing invasive ivy. Worked to ensure that this mixed-use space will be safe for all Park users.
Worked with MIPD and Mercer Island Mayor to promote safe storage of firearms and to increase safety in our Mercer Island schools and broader community through gun violence prevention efforts.
Our public spheres extend beyond parks and public spaces and the internet is a community “place” as well that our kids need to know how to navigate. This includes social media and how personal technology devices are utilized in our schools. To date, we have worked with community advocates, a King County prosecutor specializing in Internet Crimes and select school board members on the topic of Internet safety for our youth and in our schools. M4SMI will continue to work towards the adoption of sound policies related to technology and programming regarding internet safety, social media and improved technology policies in our schools and all for Island Youth.
Worked with the YES to MI Parks committee, encouraging the continuation of the Parks levy to support our parks, improving accessibility and inclusivity of our playgrounds and restoring our forested spaces.
M4SMI are continuously working on ways to improve the accessibility, inclusivity, usability and safety of our parks and other public spaces.
We are dedicated to making all MI Parks inclusive & accessible as playgrounds age out and are replaced.
Working with the Mercer Island mayor and Governmental Agencies on developing & deploying Fentanyl educational programming for youth.

ADVOCATES |

GRASSROOTS |

UNITY |

CONNECTION |

SAFETY |

COMMUNITY |

ADVOCATES | GRASSROOTS | UNITY | CONNECTION | SAFETY | COMMUNITY |

OUR VISION

Our vision is to help maintain a thriving community on Mercer Island where everyone feels safe, supported & included. We aspire to be the driving force behind positive change, advocating for policies and actions which nurture a strong sense of unity and community. In these efforts we strive to collaborate with many diverse stakeholders to foster a secure, safe and welcoming environment for all. Together, we strive to be the leading advocates for safety, inclusivity and accessibility in our community, mobilizing our collective power to uplift the lives of every Mercer Island resident, ensuring a brighter and safer future for generations to come.

Mobilizing our collective power to Enhance the lives of every mercer island resident.

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