Gateway to Freedom
Project: Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) Program
Request: $15,000
Your gift buys an ID, a bus fare, and a way out of the cycle.
Gateway to Freedom's Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program is a community-based case management program for Jefferson County residents facing homelessness, behavioral health challenges, substance use, poverty and other barriers to stability. Rather than letting people cycle repeatedly through crisis, emergency services and the criminal legal system, LEAD connects them with individualized support that addresses immediate needs while building toward long-term stability.
Roughly 150 residents participate annually, referred by law enforcement or other criminal justice partners as an alternative to a traditional criminal justice response.
Why this works when other things haven't
Participants typically carry several overlapping problems at once: unstable housing or homelessness, untreated behavioral health conditions, substance use disorders, chronic medical conditions, unemployment, no transportation, food insecurity, and no way to obtain identification, public benefits or healthcare. Many have experienced significant trauma and have struggled to navigate complex service systems that assume a level of stability they don't have.
LEAD case managers work alongside community partners to remove those barriers one at a time. We’re talking housing, food, healthcare, behavioral health services, benefits, transportation, employment resources.
For eligible individuals referred for qualifying nonviolent misdemeanor offenses, successful participation can result in charges not being referred for prosecution. That's not leniency for its own sake; it's an attempt to address the cause rather than repeat the cycle.
Here are the problems you can help solve
LEAD is primarily funded through contracts with the Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs and the Washington State Health Care Authority. In the current cycle, both state contracts were reduced as a result of statewide budget cuts — a combined loss of more than $70,000.
The annual cost to operate LEAD is approximately $625,000. Current funding stands at $551,396, leaving a gap of more than $73,000. Demand, meanwhile, continues to grow as more residents experience housing instability, behavioral health challenges and repeated contact with the justice system.
What your donation makes possible
Your gift supports direct case management — participant engagement, individualized planning, care coordination, crisis intervention, resource navigation and collaboration with law enforcement and community partners — plus the flexible funds that let a case manager solve a problem the same day it appears.
The expected outcomes are measurable and align with Washington State's goals for LEAD: fewer arrests and less time in custody, increased use of community-based behavioral health, substance use, medical and housing services, reduced reliance on emergency services, greater housing stability, and improved access to income, benefits and employment.
The bottom line
Every crisis prevented is also a crisis that doesn't consume an ambulance, an ER bed, a jail night or a court date. Ask what's stopping someone from getting back on their feet and the answer is often absurdly small. A replacement ID they can't afford the fee for. Bus fare to an appointment. A cell phone with minutes, so an employer or a caseworker can actually reach them. Work boots. A document fee.
Those are the things flexible participant funds cover, and they are frequently the difference between a plan and a result.
