REST Updates
REST
Building Confidence Through New Experiences

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.

Building Confidence Through New Experiences
REST Updates
REST
Responding Together in a Critical Moment

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.

Responding Together in a Critical Moment
Services and Impact
REST
From Plan to Action: Supporting Survivors ...

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.

From Plan to Action: Supporting Survivors During a Critical Time
REST Updates
REST
Preparing with Care and Readiness

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.

Preparing with Care and Readiness
REST Updates
REST
Celebrating 15 Years of 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.

Celebrating 15 Years of REST

Resolve to End Homelessness With Us

Resolve to End Homelessness With Us

At REST, we know that there is a massive overlap in sexually exploited individuals and homelessness. Data shows that 84% of survivors of sexual exploitation have endured homelessness. A local study by Deborah Boyer, Commercially Sexually Exploited Children in Seattle/King County 2019 Update, demonstrated that 46% of sexually exploited youth in our community were homeless at the time of the study—and 66% of them had faced homelessness.

Road to REST

I joined REST on May 3rd as the Director of Philanthropy and Marketing.

I am grateful that my journey from Bangladesh has led me to REST. I look forward to partnering with you to spread love, safety, and hope. I can’t guarantee that the road will always be smooth, but I can guarantee that I will not stop walking alongside of victims and survivors of the sex trade and sex trafficking. I invite you to join me on this road.

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.

REST is a 501(c)(3) Non-Profit Organization | EIN #45-3531020