by Kim Merrikin
Homelessness in King County
11,751
On one night in January of 2020, 11,751 people were without safe and stable housing right here in King County—and that was before the pandemic. COVID-19 took its toll on our community in the form of illness, financial hardships, isolation, and fear. The 2021 Point In Time Street Count was canceled due to the pandemic. While we don’t have the quantitative data to tell us “there are more people without homes in our community”, we do know that vulnerable people were and continue to be impacted disproportionately by the pandemic.
That is 11,751 individuals who deserve to be loved—and for many, love feels like home.
Homelessness and Sexual Exploitation
At REST, we know that there is a massive overlap between 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.
Getting and keeping housing can be hard.
Affordable housing has a mile-long waitlist and does not take into account individuals who have suffered trauma, exploitation, and sex trafficking. When one is actively enduring trauma and living in survival mode, it is difficult to navigate through the complex application process in order to attain rental and housing assistance.
The truth about homelessness in Seattle:
If you don’t have a living wage job, it is extraordinarily difficult to afford a home.
If you don’t have a home, you can’t put an address on your job application. If you are hired, it is difficult to consistently show up.
The truth about homelessness as a victim of the sex trade in Seattle:
If your abuser or trafficker took your legal documents as a form of manipulation, you do not have the means to apply for a job or a house.
If your abuser stole your identity and racked up bad debt in your name, destroying your credit, you won’t likely be approved for a lease or a loan.
If you have prior evictions, your rental prospect is bleak at best.
When you have no choice but to endure abuse at the hands of your trafficker and buyers, or homelessness—are you really given a choice?
The barriers to housing for victims and survivors of sex trafficking are complex, and overcoming them often requires broader supporting systems. At REST, we have seen that with trauma-informed care, supportive services, and housing assistance victims and survivors can achieve stability.
How does REST serve unhoused survivors?
We know that homelessness is not a one-solution-fits-all problem—which is why we offer an array of supportive services for our clients who are facing housing instability:
REST Community Advocates are supportive helpers for survivors—they help clients navigate the complicated housing assistance programs, access supportive services, and walk alongside our clients as they pursue safe and stable housing.
The REST Shelter is a seven-bed low-barrier emergency shelter where women ages 18+ can stay for 30–90 days. While in the shelter, guests’ basic needs are met so they can begin to come out of survival mode and focus on their bigger dreams and goals. Guests also have access to a Housing Specialist, who can help them find the next step toward stable housing when it’s time to leave the shelter.
The REST House is a six-bed one-year independent housing program, open to survivors of all kinds of human trafficking (including both labor and sex trafficking) and to all genders. This program is designed to provide a safe environment for survivors to practice self-sufficiency and empowers them to take steps towards pathways to freedom, safety, and hope.
Rental assistance and Transition-in-Place (TIP) are grant-funded financial assistance programs that help survivors find stable living situations, and enable them to stay there—even when there is a setback. Rental assistance can help with deposits and first months to secure a place, or when money is short to avoid eviction. TIP assistance is a program wherein REST (via grants) pays 100% of a survivor’s rent for the first three months, then 75%, then 50%—and so forth—for a year, gradually reducing dependence on the program, and allowing survivors to have a stable home before they find stable employment.
In addition to these housing-specific programs, REST clients also have access to the full breadth of our supportive services such as the Integrated Health Clinic, The REST Economic and Leadership Empowerment Academy, and having basic needs like food and clothing met through Drop-in Services.
But—what can *I* do?
We have four actions you can take right now:
Address the narrative in your own mind. As you move about Seattle and see encampments where unhoused people are staying—or you’re confronted by your own local problems with homelessness—what is going on in your mind? Are you disgusted? Frustrated? Annoyed? Or are you looking on your unhoused neighbors with compassion, kindness, and love? Have you thought about the trauma and instability they’re enduring? Often the stigma around homelessness causes deep-seated shame that makes pursuing change difficult. Challenge yourself on what you believe about unhoused individuals—they deserve to be loved—by me, by you, and by the community at large.
Use your voice on Resolution Day. On July 15, join REST and several other local non-profits, led by Resolution To End Homelessness by raising your voice and raising awareness of the need for a compassionate response to homelessness in our community. You can start by simply sharing this blog on your social media channels to help get the word out!
Sign up for REST Training Day (RTD). RTD is our quarterly training series where you can learn more about the dynamics of commercial sexual exploitation, grow in your knowledge and advocacy for anti-trafficking work, and is the first step to becoming a volunteer with REST. The next training has it’s first session ON Resolution Day! Sign up here to join us for RTD 101 and 102 on July 15 and 22, respectively.
Give. Any time you financially support REST, you are saying to victims and survivors that they deserve to be loved. With every gift, you are creating pathways to housing and opportunities for hope. Now through July 15, you can give through Resolution Day, or simply use the donate button in the top right corner of our website to give—noting in the comments that your gift was inspired by Resolution Day.
Your support matters—whether it’s actively putting aside biases against unhoused individuals, joining the movement by using your voice, volunteering, or giving money.
And remember—you deserve to be loved, too.