As Seattle prepares for a major global soccer event, REST is preparing to meet the moment with awareness, outreach, and survivor-centered support. Learn why large events make community preparedness so important, what REST is doing to strengthen response, and how you can help survivors know there is a safe place to turn.
Healing does not always happen in obvious ways. Sometimes it looks like gathering around a table for Easter dinner, joining a supportive conversation, or laughing together over banana splits. In April, REST shelter guests experienced meaningful moments of joy, connection, and care that helped create space for hope. Read more about how these moments are supporting healing at REST.
Camp REST created space for belonging, healing, and possibility in March. From shared meals and creative activities to a restorative visit to Salish Lodge, guests experienced moments of connection, care, and encouragement. The month also marked meaningful transitions as two guests took important next steps toward stability and independence. Read more about how Camp REST helped create room for rest, community, and new possibilities.
This spring, REST is expanding shelter capacity from 7 beds to 12, but this story is about more than additional space. It is about listening to survivors, rethinking language, and creating environments that feel safe, dignified, and deeply restorative. From renaming our shelter the Essential RESToration Center to launching the new RESToration Transition Center, every detail reflects a commitment to care that is thoughtful, survivor centered, and designed to support what comes next. Read how this expansion is helping create more room for healing, hope, and lasting restoration.
Fifteen years ago, REST began with one bold belief: survivors deserve dignity, compassion, and real pathways forward. Since 2009, that belief has looked like calls answered when someone had nowhere else to turn, advocates showing up again and again, and a community refusing to look away. In our 15-year anniversary blog, we reflect on REST’s journey from our beginnings in 2009 through becoming an official 501(c)(3) in 2011, what this milestone truly represents, and why we’re more committed than ever to the work ahead. Read the full post to celebrate with us and see what’s next.
Doris O’Neal, Director of Gender-Based Violence Specialized Services at YWCA Seattle, shares how she leads with courage, adaptability, and purpose while overseeing a team of 14 advocates. She opens up about mentorship, the Audre Lorde quote that keeps her from choosing silence, and the moment she had to pivot quickly when critical funding was reduced. Read the lessons she’s passing on, the women who inspire her, and the advice she offers to every woman stepping into leadership.
Meet Kim Berry—a nurse, advocate, and volunteer who’s turning compassion into action at REST. From holding hands in hospital rooms to walking alongside survivors at medical appointments, Kim's story is deeply moving and beautifully human. Her one word to describe volunteering? Gratifying. Read how Kim is making waves—and why she says volunteering gives back more than it takes.
Most of the photographs representing survivors on this website are stock photography and feature models used for illustrative purposes only. With a few carefully evaluated exceptions, we do not publish or share photos of survivors at REST.
