KCSARC’s year in review 2023

Going into 2023, we knew it would be a year of transition. Following Mary Ellen Stone’s Fall 2022 announcement she would retire as KCSARC’s CEO, our Board of Directors conducted a thorough, year-long nationwide search for the right person to lead our nonprofit in its next phase. This October, KCSARC’s Board and staff welcomed our new CEO, Kate Krug. We’ve been fortunate for a transitional time with Mary Ellen, who wraps up her interim role as strategic advisor at month’s end. Kate is taking the reins and hitting the ground running.

That’s a change we were prepared for, and we haven’t missed a beat in raising our voice for survivors every way we could this past year.

In January, in partnership with the University of Washington’s departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, Harborview Abuse and Trauma Center and the Seattle Indian Health Board, we launched the Seattle Resource Connector, a one-stop online tool to help survivors in Seattle and throughout King County assess their needs and access supportive services that are right for them.

Our annual BE LOUD Breakfast in March brought several hundred community members together _— in person for the first time since 2019 _— for a strong, visible message of support and solidarity with survivors. (Mark March 13, 2024 to join us next year!)

Speaking out for survivors

Throughout the year, we spoke out for survivors in the media and in legislative corridors.

We were a resource to media covering sexual assault and violence in our community, providing helpful context about the impact of sexual assault and shared resources available to survivors and their families.

Our CEO participated in a Department of Justice press conference this summer about the uptick in reports of sexual assault on airplanes to help the community understand their role as bystanders/upstanders.

In the legislature, we partnered with sexual assault and other victim service coalitions statewide to advocate for additional state funding as federal resources dwindle and the numbers and needs of survivors grew more complex. We also partnered with the Coalition Ending Gender-Based Violence to stave off cuts to victim advocacy services in this year’s King County budget.

At every turn, we’ve taken the opportunity to ensure survivors are heard, taken seriously, and not minimized. We are particularly concerned that the incidence and impact of sexual assault on young victims and survivors from marginalized communities are not fully understood. In December, we submitted testimony to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, which recently began investigating Racial Disparities in Violent Crime Victimization.

Empowered Voices

Our Empowered Voices members played a vital role in our storytelling this year, sharing their own lived experiences and stories of recovery in so many ways. We thank each of them for their willingness to help educate the community, and to help other survivors know they are not alone. You can read messages from several members in our 2022-23 Impact Report.

Engaging with our community

We hosted and participated in a number of community educational and outreach events, including a webinar during Sexual Assault Awareness Month on responding to a disclosure, and a networking event for partners serving the Latinx community during Hispanic Heritage Month. And we were grateful for invitations to join partners like Family First Community Center, SeaMar, NAMI and others to share our resources with the community.

Preventing sexual assault

This year, we responded to an unprecedented demand for prevention programming in our community. The challenges that students, staff and whole school communities are facing look a lot different today than just a few years ago, and students are demanding that adults address this issue. Our prevention team continued its work with students and staff in Renton schools,  and is responding to a growing waitlist of schools seeking training and strategies to prevent sexual assault from happening. To help parents engage in the conversation and understand what’s on the minds of young people we’re working with, we launched a new podcast series, The Link to Prevention.

All of our work is possible thanks to supporters like you.

We are grateful you share our vision of a community free from sexual violence. We look forward to accomplishing more together in the new year!