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Seattle Human Services news and events

Support Survivors of Violence

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Victim support advocate volunteers needed – Training will be provided

Smiling, young Black woman pictured with quote "I started volunteering because I wanted to know how to help survivors of domestic violence" with additional text about accepting applications for new volunteers through March 17, 2022.

The Human Services Department would like your help! HSD’s Safe and Thriving Communities Division is seeking help recruiting community volunteers to become trained support advocates to victims of domestic violence and other crimes. Victim Support Team (VST) volunteers offer support to survivors in a unique time of need, and their commitment and impact make this program a vital part of the City’s response to violence. 

About becoming a Victim Support Team volunteer:

  • VST Community Volunteers come from all backgrounds and walks of life.
  • No experience in social work or counseling is required.
  • Free onboarding, training, and mentorship will be provided as a part of the program.
  • The Victim Support Team provides short term advocacy, safety planning, and referrals to culturally relevant resources.
  • VST volunteers operate in-person on the weekends as a mobile crisis response team, and during the week offering remote phone advocacy.

Benefits of volunteering with VST:

  • Make an important impact providing compassionate and non-judgmental support to survivors.
  • Join a professional community of practice that includes experts in the field of victim advocacy.
  • Gain skills and knowledge in survivor advocacy and build community connections and relationships.

More information and application materials are available online, please visit VST Volunteer Opportunities – HumanServices | seattle.gov today:

  • Applications are open now, deadline to submit is March 17, 2022
  • Must be 21+ and pass an SPD background check

Safe and Thriving Communities Division Hires Its First Division Director

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HSD is excited to welcome Rex Brown, who has been hired as the first director of the new Safe and Thriving Communities Division! This is a very exciting moment for the communities we serve, and Rex looks forward to meeting department staff and our community partners in the weeks ahead. Rex will join HSD on July 7, 2021.

Headshot photo of Rex Brown, Safe and Thriving Communities Division Director

From the moment I watched the first seconds of what became the end of George Floyd’s life, I realized the urgency of finding a way to protect the most vulnerable people in the most vulnerable places. I did not then, and I do not now believe that we must accept casual violence and racism as an inescapable part of life and our society. I want to work in this new safety division to directly address the needs of Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in a way that reimagines a society in which every person has the agency to meet basic needs with dignity. As a society, that is the only way we can truly thrive. In the words of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”

Rex Brown, Safe and Thriving Communities Division Director

Prior to his selection as Safe and Thriving Communities Division Director, Rex led the Governor’s Sub-Cabinet on Business Diversity at the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises, where he led the first Statewide Disparity Study in 2019, which addressed systemic inequity in state contracting across Washington. Rex also launched the first Washington State Community of Practice to implement race- and gender-conscious policies, initiatives, and tools to help increase the use of certified minorities, women, and veterans in state procurement practices.

Rex’s experience in race, equity, diversity, and inclusion extends beyond the government sector. As an alum of the Boston College Law School, Rex took up leadership of the Black Alumni Network (BAN) as its president. During his tenure, Rex refocused BAN’s African-American recruitment/retention efforts as an integral component of BC Law’s mission for social justice, established the Ruth Arlene W. Howe Scholarship (which was named for the first African-American female faculty member to achieve tenure and the rank of full professor at BC), and helped guide the selection of BC Law School’s first African-American dean.

Rex is joining HSD at a critical moment. The new Safe and Thriving Communities Division will be at the forefront of investing in community-led safety strategies for BIPOC communities and its first major round of investments (the Community Safety Capacity Building RFP) will be awarded this summer. Rex’s leadership will be key in building this new division and overseeing these investments in partnership with community. We look forward to his leadership on these incredibly important issues.

Seattle Human Services Department Continues to Build Up Safe and Thriving Communities Division

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New Crime Survivor Services Unit and Job Posting for Division Director

As the City of Seattle continues to reimagine public safety, the Safe and Thriving Communities Division is a new division in the Seattle Human Services Department (HSD) that consolidates previous and planned City of Seattle community safety investments into the department. The division was created in response to the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020 and ensuing community advocacy efforts that urged the City to center Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities and shift safety investments into community-based organizations. As part of the reimagining, the Crime Survivor Services (CSS) Unit – comprised of the Crime Victim Advocates and Victim Support Team programs – was integrated into HSD from the Seattle Police Department (SPD).

CSS supports individuals who experience a broad range of violent assaults, some of which include domestic violence, elder abuse, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, and hate crimes. The unit also supports family members of homicide victims. Community-based agencies work closely with the unit keeping them current on resources available to survivors; increasing opportunities for partnership; and enhancing collaboration between system and community-based advocates. This work is centered on survivor agency, dignity, and safety as well as ensuring trauma-informed care through a race and social justice lens.

“We welcome the Crime Survivor Services unit to the Human Services Department. Their work is incredibly important, and we look forward to partnering with them as we stand up this new division dedicated to community safety.”

HSD Interim Director Helen Howell

From the time a police report is filed, nine, system-based, Crime Victim Advocates are responsible for working on behalf of families/survivors to ensure access to resources – from victim benefits to interpreters to critical services for shelter, transportation, counseling, medical services, and more. This advocacy can typically continue through the filing of criminal charges and the different phases of court proceedings.

Crime Victim Advocates will continue to co-locate within each investigative SPD unit to provide seamless support. One such example is the Elder Crimes Advocate, who works alongside the SPD Detective as they both visit the crime survivor’s home. The Advocate can provide an early assessment of the crime survivor’s cognitive functioning and offer a softer tone for the vulnerable adult. Perpetrators of these crimes are often family members or caregivers, creating an immediate care need once the perpetrator is removed from the situation. By being involved in the case from the beginning, the Advocate can assess those care needs and start working to quickly put a plan in place.

The second CSS program is the Victim Support Team (VST). VST is a 30-year-old program designed to bridge the gap in services for domestic violence survivors immediately after a patrol officer responds to a 911 call.

On the weekends, VST is a mobile crisis response team, operating city-wide and offering on-scene and/or over-the-phone support. Volunteers work in teams of two and are assisted by an On-Call Supervisor. They provide transportation; help locate shelter, food, and clothing; offer resource referral; offer safety planning; and answer questions about the criminal justice system. During the week, the VST Victim Advocate responds to requests for VST services, collaborating with detectives, patrol officers, system-based advocates, and community partners.

As part of the new transition to CSS, VST plans to adapt and expand beyond its current model to also include supporting the CSS Advocates by accompanying survivors to court and offering immediate emergency resources to survivors of all types of violent crime.

“The community members that volunteer for VST are remarkably dedicated. After a year of pandemic-related furlough, they are eager to return to service and grateful for the opportunity to continue this important work.”

Kaylee DiMaggio, Victim Support Team Supervisor

Safe & Thriving Communities Division Director Search

The new division’s work will be informed and led by community voices and is in development. HSD is seeking a compassionate, innovative, and experienced leader to serve as the first director of this new division. Along with the Crime Survivor Services Unit, the division will also be the new home for the Mayor’s Office on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault and existing community safety investments in the department. The Division Director will be responsible for working with stakeholders to develop a comprehensive plan for capacity building efforts to invest over $10 million in community-based providers working to end violence and increase safety in BIPOC communities.

Please visit the Supporting Safe Communities and Safe Lives page on the Seattle Human Services Department’s public website for more information and to follow updates on this important work.