August brought meaningful firsts for guests at REST’s shelter, from visiting a museum for the first time to navigating public transportation and enjoying a movie together. Read how new workshops, community outings, and everyday experiences are helping build confidence, connection, and hope for what comes next.
July brought an intense period of crisis response for REST, with staff working extended hours to support survivors through hotline calls, field response, shelter services, meals, and safe spaces during the summer heat. Along the way, community partners, churches, volunteers, and donors helped provide nourishment, comfort, and moments of connection. Read how REST’s team and community came together to meet urgent needs with flexibility, care, and resilience.
When a major international soccer event brought thousands of visitors to Seattle, REST put months of preparation into action. During the response period, staff supported at least 25 people with individualized safety planning, emergency lodging, transportation, relocation, and essential resources, adapting quickly as needs changed. Read how REST’s team, donors, and community partners worked together to turn careful planning into real pathways to safety, stability, and hope.
June was a meaningful month at REST, filled with team growth, preparation, creativity, and moments of connection with shelter guests. From welcoming new staff and completing crisis response training to celebrating Juneteenth at Seward Park and bringing summer creativity into the shelter, this month’s update offers a glimpse into the many ways care, community, and survivor-centered support show up every day at REST.
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.
Last month when Epstein passed, we invited survivors to tell us about their reaction to his apparent suicide. Three survivors responded—and wrote beautiful expressions that focused less on Epstein’s death, and more on a collective commitment to dismantling systems of abusive power and bringing forth justice in their day to day lives.
In the last two months, three powerful men—billionaire Jeffrey Epstein, R&B singer/songwriter R. Kelly, and megachurch founder Naasón Joaquín García—have been arrested and charged with various crimes surrounding the sexual abuse, creation or possession of child pornography, and trafficking of minors.
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.
