Podcast | A Seattle hotline supports sex trafficking survivors
June Guzman and Audrey Baedke offer housing and emotional support through the nonprofit Real Escape from the Sex Trade (REST).
A bus stop on Aurora Avenue North on Thursday, March 16, 2023. (Amanda Snyder/Crosscut)
The Seattle area is a known hub for sex trafficking. Some estimates suggest that more than two thousand people could be trafficked in the region every night.
June Guzman manages the 24/7 hotline and emergency shelter for Real Escape from the Sex Trade, or REST. Audrey Baedke is director of programs at REST. Both Guzman and Baedke work to support survivors through everything from finding transportation and housing assistance to simply answering the phone when a survivor needs someone to talk to.
Subscribe to Crosscut Reports on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Podbean.
In this episode of Crosscut Reports, host Sara Bernard speaks with Guzman and Baedke about their work and what it’s shown them about the urgency of the issue in the region right now.
But mostly they focus on REST’s 24/7 hotline: what people who call are often looking for; what stories still stick with both Guzman and Baedke; and what a hotline like this, at its core, really means.
