Every day at Community Against Sexual Harm (CASH) is built on the belief that healing, safety, and dignity are not privileges, they are rights. Our team doesn’t just provide services, we walk alongside women as they reclaim their power, their voice, and their future.
In this blog, we’re opening the door to what a day at CASH feels like. It’s not only about our programs, it’s about the people who make them possible, and the women we serve with compassion and purpose.
Opening the Center: Creating a Safe Haven
Each weekday afternoon, our Center Coordinators open the doors to our drop-in center, offering far more than a meal or clean clothes. They greet each woman with dignity and warmth, ready to meet immediate needs.
From setting up lunch and assisting with clothing selection in our free boutique to the distribution of hygiene products, our staff ensures that every woman who enters feels safe, supported, and respected. They also keep the space tidy and welcoming, because the environment matters. This is her place, too.
Always Available: Meeting Her Where She’s At
Our work doesn’t start or stop with drop-in hours. Case managers are available around the clock, often meeting women exactly where they are, both physically and emotionally. That could mean showing up at the courthouse to offer support, accompanying someone to a doctor’s appointment, or helping navigate systems like the Department of Human Assistance or housing programs.
It’s not unusual for a staff member to sit beside a client through challenging meetings with other service providers, or simply be present as a steady, trusted support in moments of vulnerability. This flexibility is intentional, it’s how trust is built.
Peer-Led Pathways: The RESET Diversion Program
One of the most powerful expressions of our mission is our RESET Diversion Program, a collaborative court model led by CASH staff and deeply rooted in peer mentoring.
When women are criminalized for getting caught in the cycle of exploitation, RESET offers them a chance to choose a different path and have those charges vacated. Participants receive holistic support: education, job training and placement, financial literacy, health services, and, just as important, space to be heard.
Our staff listens deeply to each woman’s story. That act alone is revolutionary in a system that so often silences them. The program uplifts survivors and reaffirms what we know to be true: with the right support, women can heal and thrive.
Compassionate Care On-Site: Our Medical Clinic
CASH is proud to offer on-site medical services through our clinic, which provides low-barrier, trauma-informed care to women who are often overlooked or mistreated in traditional healthcare settings.
Many of the women we serve have had painful or stigmatizing experiences with medical systems. That’s why our clinic focuses on trust, dignity, and consistency. Services include reproductive health care, STI testing and treatment, HIV testing, primary care, and wound care, all delivered in a setting that prioritizes emotional safety alongside physical health.
Having these services in-house, within a space women already trust, removes barriers and helps us meet urgent needs without delay. Medical staff are trained in trauma-informed practices and work hand-in-hand with our case managers and peer mentors, ensuring that care is integrated, not fragmented.
For many, a visit to our clinic is the first positive experience with healthcare in years. It can be the start of not only physical healing, but also a renewed sense of agency and worth.
STAFF SPOTLIGHT:
Housing is Healing: Leslie’s Life-Changing Work
Few things change a life more dramatically than safe, stable housing. At CASH, Housing Specialist Leslie Rust is on the front lines of this work, and her impact is remarkable.
Already this year, Leslie has helped over 30 families secure permanent housing.
💬 “This is changing lives in such an incredible way,” Leslie says. “It’s truly life-changing to go from literally being outside homeless to having a place of your own to call home. No more moving, no more couch surfing, or sleeping outside on the streets. This is amazing. I have the best job here. I am so grateful to be able to do what I do, helping survivors find housing.”
Leslie’s success reflects CASH’s deep commitment to long-term stability, not just short-term aid. Every key turned in a new door is a symbol of hope, dignity, and progress.
It’s Not Just What We Do, It’s How We Do It
Behind every service, every conversation, and every warm meal is a team of people who care deeply. Survivors lead this work. They design it, guide it, and live it. That’s what makes CASH different. It’s not just about checking boxes, it’s about walking with women through every stage of their journey.
We know healing doesn’t follow a schedule. That’s why we’re always ready, on the streets, in courtrooms, at clinics, or across a coffee table in our drop-in center.
Join Us
When you support CASH, you’re supporting a model that trusts women, that listens first, and that refuses to give up on anyone.
Whether you donate, or simply share our mission with others, you become part of a movement rooted in compassion and change.
Because at CASH, this is more than a mission. It’s a way of life.