We Are the Movement: 2026 WSCADVSA Conference

Washington State is one of the top 5 wealthiest states in the country. And yet, programs that support survivors are being slashed, our own programs are stretched to the limit, and lawmakers on both sides of the aisle cry poverty when balancing our state budget. Make it make sense! This workshop will help you better understand our state budget, what it funds, and why safety net programs are the first to be cut. We will also learn about why such a wealthy state has a big revenue problem and more about the movement to change that. Join us for a big picture discussion and how you can be a part of the change in your community.

This workshop is for advocates, directors, and anyone who wants to get nerdy about revenue!

This workshop will be presented in Spanish with limited English interpretation available.

Arte, Sanación y Esperanza: Construyendo una Comunidad Más Allá de la Violencia 
Grupo de Apoyo para Mujeres Rurales de YWCA WW
Este taller explora cómo la creatividad y el arte pueden apoyar a las sobrevivientes de violencia doméstica y agresión sexual en su camino hacia la sanación, la conexión y el fortalecimiento personal.

Guiadas por el personal y Promotoras de YWCA, los participantes tendrán la oportunidad de crear arte en un espacio de apoyo, utilizando la expresión artística como una forma de:

• Fomentar la conexión, el sentido de pertenencia y la expresión personal
• Crear un espacio seguro y confidencial para la sanación
• Honrar las experiencias, fortalezas y resiliencia de cada sobreviviente
• Apoyar a las sobrevivientes mientras imaginan y construyen una nueva vida libre de violencia

Juntas, crearemos obras de arte que reflejen el espíritu de pertenencia y que recuerden a quienes con demasiada frecuencia no son vistas o escuchadas que importan, que sus voces importan y que pertenecen a nuestra comunidad. Este es un camino hacia la construcción de una vida libre de violencia, basada en la esperanza, la conexión y la comunidad. La esperanza es comunidad. Juntas somos más fuertes.

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Art, Healing & Hope: Building Community Beyond Violence
YWCA WW Rural Women’s Support Group
This workshop explores how creativity and art can support survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault on their journey toward healing, connection, and empowerment.

Guided by YWCA staff and Promotoras, participants engage in a supportive group experience where creating art becomes a pathway to:

• Foster connection, belonging, and self-expression

• Create a safe and confidential space for healing

• Honor each survivor’s experiences, strengths, and resilience

• Support survivors as they envision and build a new life beyond violence

Together, we will create artwork that reflects the spirit of belonging and reminds those who are too often unseen or unheard that they matter, their voices matter, and they belong. This is a journey toward building a life without violence—one grounded in hope, connection, and community. Hope is community. Together, we are stronger.

Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting in WA State is an interactive session designed to increase attendees understanding of FGM/C in Washington state, address common myths and misconceptions, and strengthen participants’ ability to support prevention and survivor-centered responses. Through storytelling, reflection, and discussion, participants will develop an understanding of the cultural and social drivers of FGM/C, its health consequences, and the US and global context with a focus on Washington State’s prevention and response efforts. The workshop encourages participants to identify meaningful actions they can take within their professional and community roles. By the end of the session, participants will be better equipped to promote awareness, respond with compassion, and connect survivors to available resources and referral pathways.

Advocates are carrying tremendous pressure as they support survivors while navigating increasingly strained systems that can push emotional and professional capacity to its limits. This interactive session creates space to acknowledge those challenges, examine the evolving role of advocacy, and explore how cross-sector partnerships, particularly with home visiting programs, can strengthen support systems for families.

Participants will engage in meaningful discussion, share strategies for collaboration, and practice grounding techniques that help sustain well-being and reduce the risk of burnout. Attendees will leave with practical tools, collective wisdom, and a renewed sense of connection to themselves, their work, and the families they serve.

• Examine common myths and facts about commercial sexual exploitation and the definitions that shape our responses.
• Explore exploitation across generations, including the experiences of youth, young adults, and adults.
• Consider how adultification, racial bias, grooming, and responses to missing Black youth affect prevention and intervention.
• Learn from the expertise of survivors/experiencers, advocates, families, and communities.
• Identify opportunities for community engagement, healing, and approaches beyond the current service paradigm.

Finding safe, stable housing is a critical step toward long-term survivor safety and stability. This workshop will explore the full continuum of survivor housing options, from emergency shelter and transitional housing to permanent housing solutions. Participants will learn strategies for helping families secure affordable rental and permanent housing opportunities while gaining a better understanding of how to develop and operate housing resources.

Presented by Angie Pacheco of DVSBF, this session will share the organization's experience developing and operating survivor-centered housing programs, highlighting practical lessons learned, innovative approaches, and real-world success stories. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for overcoming common housing program development and operation barriers, strengthening housing pathways, and supporting survivors in achieving lasting housing stability.

When teacher misconduct and boundary violations came to light at Vashon Island’s only high school, the community faced a choice: react with blame or respond with intention. This case study traces how the Vashon Island School District and The DOVE Project built a multi-stakeholder workgroup grounded in restorative and transformative justice. With this work, producing four concrete pillars of change: district-wide training, redesigned reporting systems, community reparations, and a long-term cultural change plan.

The DOVE Project’s years of comprehensive prevention programming embedded in Vashon schools and built on trusted relationships across every stakeholder group uniquely positioned DOVE to step into this support role. Prevention organizations bring something no outside consultant can: existing credibility and trust with students, families, and staff. That foundation is what made neutral facilitation possible, and what made the community willing to come to the table.

This session makes the case that prevention programs across the region are not peripheral to addressing harm that youth experience in schools, but rather they are essential to it. When districts face harm, the organizations already doing daily prevention work are best positioned to help rebuild trust, center youth voices, and move toward lasting safety through youth-centered policy and practice reform.