Inspired by Don’t Call The Police, this site aims to be a current directory of community-based alternatives to police in Seattle.
For mobile users, use the links above or the menu icon in the top left to browse resources.
We would love to see more community-based resources. If you have a resource to add, we got something wrong, or have feedback, contact us at:
E-mail: dontcallseattlepd [at] protonmail.com
Twitter: @DontCallSPD
Police are trained to view individuals, groups, and even neighborhoods as threats. Once you involve the police, you lose control over who is being policed, meaning even you can be seen as a threat.
By seeking out an alternative to calling the police, you may save a life!
This diagram is adapted from Showing Up for Racial Justice, DC - Policing Team material.
Phone and text for youth ages 12-17. They will come to you within 45 minutes. 24x7 hotline available.
Focusing on support for LGBTQ young people in crisis. 24x7 hotline available.
Youth Haven serves as a short-term emergency placement for homeless youth aged 7-17. 24x7 hotline available.
Supportive services to homeless and at-risk youth ages 12-24, including shelter, outreach, early intervention, education, and employment assistance. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: Friends of Youth
Phone (24x7): 800-422-8336
Text (24x7): 800-422-8336
Click for map of Safe Place Locations.
24-hour crisis hotline for youth ages 12-17. Within 45 minutes, a Safe Place coordinator meets with the youth, assesses the situation, and works with them to place them at a shelter or reunite with parents/guardians, and community outreach.
All King County Library locations, metro buses, local businesses, and non-profit organizations are official Safe Place sites—2,100 sites.
Web: The Trevor Project
Phone (24x7): 866-488-7386
Text (24x7): 678678 Text START to 678-678
Web Chat (24x7): Start Chat
24-hour crisis hotline for youth ages 12-17. Within 45 minutes, a Safe Place coordinator meets with the youth, assesses the situation, and works with them to place them at a shelter or reunite with parents/guardians and community outreach.
All King County Library locations, metro buses, local businesses, and non-profit organizations are official Safe Place sites—2,100 sites.
Web: Friends of Youth
Phone (24x7): 206-236-5437
Emergency shelter and transitional living, which serves youth ages 7-17 with case management, life skills, education support, recreational outings, and focuses on housing stability. Youths can access the shelter anytime, and staff can come to the youth’s location if needed. No outside referral is required.
Web: YouthCare
Phone (24x7): 800-495-7802
Supportive services to homeless and at-risk youth include shelter, outreach, early intervention, education, and employment assistance.
Orion Center: 1828 Yale Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101
University District Youth Center: 4516 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
South Seattle Shelter: 9416 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144
Provides immediate help to individuals, families, and friends of people in emotional crisis. 24x7 hotline available.
For transgender people experiencing a crisis or looking for peer support. 24x7 hotline available.
Support for LGBTQ young people in crisis. 24x7 hotline available.
Phone, text, and online chat for free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention, and crisis resources. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: Crisis Connections
Phone WA Statewide (24x7): 711 Phone King County (24x7): 1-866-427-4747
Crisis Connections can help determine if you or someone you know needs professional consultation and can link with the appropriate services. Can refer to Crisis Support for evaluation for involuntary detention or hospitalization if required. Does not provide mobile intervention but can refer to an outside mobile provider – that provider’s response may include law enforcement.
Call if you, or someone you know, are experiencing:
Web: Trans Lifeline
Phone (24x7): 877-565-8860
Trans Lifeline’s Hotline is a peer support phone service run by trans people for trans and questioning peers. Call if you need someone trans to talk to, even if you’re not in crisis or not sure you’re trans.
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Web: The Trevor Project
Phone (24x7): 866-488-7386
Text (24x7): 678678 Text START to 678-678
Web Chat (24x7): Start Chat
24-hour crisis hotline for youth ages 12-17. Within 45 minutes, a Safe Place coordinator meets with the youth, assesses the situation, and works with them to place them at a shelter or reunite with parents/guardians and community outreach.
All King County Library locations, metro buses, local businesses, and non-profit organizations are official Safe Place sites—2,100 sites.
Web: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
Phone WA Statewide (24x7): 988
Text (24x7): 988
Online Chat (24x7): 988 Lifeline Chat
Lifeline Chat and Text is a service of the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline (formerly known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline), connecting individuals with crisis counselors for emotional support and other services via web chat or texting 988.
All chat and text centers in the Lifeline network are accredited by either the American Association of Suicidology or the International Council for Helplines. Lifeline Chat and Text are available 24/7 across the U.S. and certain territories.
The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is committed to supporting individuals in emotional crisis.
LGBTQ+ people under 25 can access LGBTQ+ support on 988 Crisis Chat or Text from 3 p.m. to 6 a.m. Eastern, daily. You’ll be asked if you want to opt-in to this support before you’re connected to a crisis counselor.
Native and Strong Lifeline is the first program in the nation dedicated to serving American Indian and Alaska Native people. Operated by Volunteers of America Western Washington, this line is available for people who call the 988 and choose option 4. It is specifically for Washington’s American Indian and Alaska Native communities. Calls are answered by Native crisis counselors who are tribal members and descendants closely tied to their communities. Native and Strong Lifeline counselors are fully trained in crisis intervention and support, with particular emphasis on cultural and traditional practices related to healing.
Veterans and active service members can reach the Veterans Crisis Line 24/7.
211 connects people to housing assistance, help with financial needs, or the location of the nearest food bank.
HOST focuses on those significantly impacted by severe mental illness and will travel to people experiencing homelessness. 24x7 hotline available.
Assists families who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness in King County connect with services.
Connects women experiencing homelessness with emergency and long-term shelter options. 24x7 hotline available.
Youth Haven serves as a short-term emergency placement for homeless youth aged 7-17. 24x7 hotline available.
Supportive services to homeless and at-risk youth ages 12-24, including shelter, outreach, early intervention, education, and employment assistance. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: King County 211
Phone (8am - 6pm): 211 or 800-621-4636
211 is a state provided service operated by Crisis Connections.
211 provides King County the following basic needs services:
Web: Homeless Outreach Stabilization and Transition
Phone (24x7): 206-464-1570 x3055
Strives to open up a safe space and empower the most vulnerable members of our community significantly impacted by severe and persistent mental illness. They travel throughout Seattle to meet their clients where they’re at: encampments, shelters, street corners, day centers, hospitals, etc. HOST case managers provide unconditional support, education, and advocacy to people experiencing homelessness.
Web: Mary’s Place Outreach Request
From the Mary’s Place website:
When should I submit an outreach request?
Did you see a family experiencing unsheltered homelessness who appears to need help? Notice a family who seems to be sleeping in their car or struggling with meeting their basic needs? Then you may be able to help them by filling out the outreach request form and letting us know about specific concerns you may have regarding the family’s well-being. As Mary’s Place outreach capacity is limited, requests for those with more serious medical and/or other safety needs may be prioritized.
When should I NOT submit an outreach request?
The Mary’s Place Outreach Team is only able to work with families who are experiencing unsheltered homelessness. Unfortunately, the team is not able to serve individuals who are couch surfing, temporarily living with friends or family, at risk of homelessness, facing eviction, or already staying in a shelter. If you know of a family in need that is not eligible for outreach services, encourage them to call 2-1-1.
Web: Noel House Programs
Phone, General Questions (24x7): 206-456-3100
Phone, Shelter Placement (6pm - 9pm): 206-437-7448
Noel House Programs provides safe, comfortable shelter to a diverse community of homeless women, particularly those most vulnerable. Not a good number to access a DV-specific shelter.
Web: Friends of Youth
Phone (24x7): 206-236-5437
Emergency shelter and transitional living serves youth ages 7-17 with case management, life skills, education supports, recreational outings, and focuses on housing stability. Youth can access the shelter anytime, and staff can come to the youth’s location if needed. No outside referral is required.
Web: YouthCare
Phone (24x7): 800-495-7802
Provides supportive services to homeless and at-risk youth, including shelter, outreach, early intervention, education and employment assistance.
Orion Center: 1828 Yale Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101
University District Youth Center: 4516 15th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
South Seattle Shelter: 9416 Rainier Ave S, Seattle, WA 98144
Advocacy and Support Line, Emergency Shelter. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: Domestic Abuse Women’s Network
Phone (24x7): 425-656-7867
24-Hour Advocacy and Support Line
Trained advocates provide information and resources, safety planning, support, or connect survivors to advocacy services. Phone interpretation support is available for those who do not speak English. If there is no answer, the advocate is speaking with another caller. If it is safe to return the call, please leave a voicemail, and they will return the call within 2 hours.
Confidential Emergency Domestic Violence Shelter
This is a safe, confidential, short-term housing for survivors of domestic violence at a 13-room emergency shelter. The shelter is for individuals and families experiencing intimate partner abuse who are at high risk of danger from their abuser and need to escape into a safe, confidential setting. The shelter offers trauma-informed comprehensive advocacy and support focused on safety planning, stable housing, and acquiring the necessary resources so individuals and families can live free of domestic violence. When an opening occurs, an advocate will screen the survivor by phone. As availability happens at various times, they do not have a waitlist. Please call the support line to see if there is an opening for you and your family.
Crisis intervention, information and referrals, and ongoing support. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC)
Phone (24x7): 888-998-6423 Ayuda en Español: (8am-5pm L-V): 425-282-0324
Experienced advocates answer your call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with free, confidential support and information to help you determine the next steps or to listen.
Help is available in any language — request a call with an interpreter through their website form: King County Sexual Assault Resource Center (KCSARC)
A crisis and support line for adults 60 or older or with disabilities. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: Friendship Line
Phone (24x7): 800-971-0016
The Friendship Line is a crisis intervention center and a “warm” line for routine, even daily, phone calls that provide emotional support, medication reminders, and well-being check-ins. The hotline has never gone unanswered since 1973, and Institute on Aging’s staff and volunteers make approximately 50,000 outgoing calls annually. A program of the Institute on Aging’s Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief-Related Services, the Friendship Line is nationally known and accredited by the American Association of Suicidology.
Program Services
Substance abuse, problem gambling, and mental health. 24x7 hotline available.
Provides immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance on the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous, hazardous, or toxic substances. All calls are confidential. 24x7 hotline available.
Web: WAshington Recovery Helpline
Phone (24x7): 866-789-1511
Text M-F 9am-9pm: 866-789-1511
The Washington Recovery Help Line is a program of Crisis Connections. They offer an anonymous, confidential 24-hour help line for Washington State residents. This helpline is for those experiencing substance use disorder, problem gambling, or a mental health challenge. In addition to providing emotional support, they can connect callers with local treatment resources or more community services.
Phone (24x7): 800-222-1222
The Washington Poison Center (WAPC) provides immediate, free, and expert treatment advice and assistance on the telephone in case of exposure to poisonous, hazardous, or toxic substances. All calls are confidential.