Meeting Basic Needs

What do you do when your basic needs go unmet? 

For many survivors, a major barrier to beginning the journey out of the sex trade is a lack of resources to meet basic needs—food, shelter, personal items. 

And because many survivors have been engaged in the sex trade since they were teenagers—and have often never known a different way to provide for themselves—when their basic needs go unmet, they turn to what they know.

When someone trades sex to meet basic needs, it’s known as “survival sex.”

Welcome to the Pathways Services Center

The Pathways Services Center (PSC) is the hub of many of our programs at REST. Survivors who come to the PSC can have their basic needs met through Drop-in Services, enroll in the Integrated Health Clinic (IHC), or participate in the REST Economic and Leadership Empowerment Academy. Our Community Advocate team is also based on-site. 

The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated some adaptations to services along the way, but throughout it all, the services at the PSC have continued to operate. In November of 2020, we were able to re-open the space to a higher number of visitors, with safety precautions in place. 

Since opening in 2015, survivors have been able to access Drop-in Services to meet basic needs—food, personal items, clothing, access information through staff services and a computer lab, and a safe place to rest and connect to others. 

In FY21, 278 unique guests visited the PSC accessing Drop-in Services 2,780 times.

Integrated Health Clinic

REST’s Integrated Health Clinic (IHC) was launched in 2018 through a grant from the Pacific Hospital Preservation and Development Authority (PHPDA) Health Equity Fund. Now partnered with International Community Health Services (ICHS), we’re able to offer mental health therapy, medical services, health advocacy, information, and referrals. This allows REST clients low-barrier access to critical health services with confidence that they’ll receive nonjudgmental, trauma-informed care.

• In FY21, the IHC served 53 unique clients.

• 71% of enrolled clients demonstrated an improvement in mental health

• 92% of enrolled clients demonstrated an increased awareness of physical health

We were also able to set up an on-site COVID-19 vaccination clinic, reducing the barriers to vaccination for REST clients. 

In our upcoming fiscal year, we’ll be adding a clinic room to the Pathways Services Center for on-site medical care.