Fifteen years ago, REST began with a simple belief: survivors deserve to be met with dignity, compassion, and real pathways forward. Today, we’re celebrating 15 years of showing up for survivors of sex trafficking with consistency, care, and the conviction that every person deserves to be loved and to live a life free from exploitation.
REST started in 2009 with a courageous commitment to meet survivors where they are. In November 2011, REST officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, strengthening our ability to grow, serve, and mobilize a community around survivor support.
Fifteen years later, we’re honoring what has been built: the resilience of survivors, the dedication of staff and volunteers, and the generosity of supporters who make this work possible.
A Journey That Started With One Bold Yes
When REST began in 2009, the need was urgent, and it still is. Survivors have always needed more than awareness. They need safe places to go, people to walk alongside them, and practical support that helps them stabilize and rebuild.
Sometimes that support looks like answering a call when someone has nowhere else to turn. Sometimes it looks like an advocate showing up again and again, helping a survivor take the next step toward safety, healing, and long-term stability.
Over the years, REST has grown in programs, partnerships, and impact while staying rooted in what matters most:
Survivor-centered support
Holistic, trauma-informed care
Long-term pathways to stability
Community collaboration that doesn’t leave survivors to navigate systems alone
This milestone isn’t just about how far REST has come. It’s about thousands of moments along the way, each one representing a person who deserved safety, dignity, and a real chance to heal.
Our 15-Year Anniversary Logo
To mark this milestone, we created a special 15-year anniversary logo as a symbol of what we’ve built together and what we’re still becoming, while keeping REST’s core logo colors and style the same. The gold circular brushstroke represents community, continuity, and momentum, a commitment that surrounds and carries this work forward. The “15” in gold honors each year of impact and the hope that keeps shining ahead. You’ll see the logo throughout the year across our materials, campaigns and updates as we reflect, celebrate, and invite our community into what comes next.
What 15 Years Represents
Fifteen years of REST represents a lot more than time. It represents:
Survivors being believed
Late-night calls answered and outreach that meets people where they are
Advocates standing beside survivors in courtrooms, hospitals, and everyday moments that take courage
Practical support, housing pathways, and the long work of rebuilding, step by step
It also represents survivors’ courage, the steadfast work of staff and volunteers, and the community of supporters who refused to look away and chose to help restore dignity and create real change.
Looking Ahead: The Work Continues
Anniversaries are a moment to celebrate, and they’re also a moment to recommit. The need has not disappeared. Survivors are still waiting for safe shelter, stable housing, supportive advocacy, and the consistent care required to heal from complex trauma.
REST will keep showing up with survivor-centered services and a community-wide approach rooted in a simple truth: ending exploitation takes all of us.
As we celebrate 15 years, we’re looking forward to deeper partnerships, stronger survivor pathways, and a future where freedom is not the exception, but the expectation.
Celebrate With Us
If REST has mattered to you, or if you’ve ever wondered how you can help, this is your invitation to step in.
Give to fuel survivor support and expand pathways to safety and stability
Share our 15-year celebration posts to help more people understand what support can look like
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Thank you for being part of this journey. Because of this community, REST has been able to build something lasting, something that carries survivors toward freedom, safety, and hope.
Here’s to 15 years of REST, and to the work we will keep doing together!