Support Sex Workers
We’re postponing this week’s poems. Here’s where the honorariums went instead.
$50 went to ProjectSAFE. About: “Mutual-aid based harm reduction for women, queer, and trans people involved in the street economies of Philly. Kensington based/sex worker focused.” They’re also currently providing medical support to those injured at protests and/or after incarceration.
Here’s an assortment of guides to local sex worker funds (with a focus on Black-led harm reduction organizations or specifically supporting Black sex workers) you might like to support now & always.
Black Sex Worker Collective: “A philanthropic arts project seeking to amplify the voices of Black Sex Workers by addressing their needs through peer support, legal assistance, housing and other basic needs assessment.” Donate here.
GLITS: “The first issue we address is that of immediate need/crisis support for transgender sex workers, including community members from the NYC area, across the US and globally through supporting asylum seekers from our priority communities. The next issue we address is health care and health resilience for transgender sex workers.”
Heaux History Project: “Many documentaries have been made about sex work and the fight for sex workers’ rights. Few center the narratives and contributions of Black and Brown people, how they have shaped this industry and an entire movement. We are hoping to change that with The Heaux History Project.”
HIPS: “Reducing harm in the nation’s capital since 1993. HIPS promotes the health, rights, and dignity of individuals and communities impacted by sexual exchange and/or drug use due to choice, coercion, or circumstance. HIPS provides compassionate harm reduction services, advocacy, and community engagement that is respectful, non-judgmental, and affirms and honors individual power and agency.”
Homeless Black Trans women fund: “This is fund for the community of Black Trans women that live in Atlanta and are sex workers and/or homeless.”
Lysistrata Mutual Care Collective & Fund: “We are an online based, community run sex worker mutual care collective. As people in the industry, we understand how exploitation plays into our field, like any other job, because sex work is WORK!” Donate to the emergency fund here. Other ways to donate here.
Mutual Aid Fund for Sex Workers of Color: “This is a mutual aid fund to help support Sex Workers of Color who are outside workers (street based) based in NY. I am eager to help those who are impacted the hardest during this time and there is no better time than now. Priority goes to Black Street based workers based in New York.”
Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition: “The Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Coalition (PAHRC) is a collaboration between various organizations including treatment providers, harm reduction programs, medical entities, social service agencies, academia, criminal justice reform projects, activists, and ordinary people.” Click here to attend their online seminar “Harm Reduction X Sex Work” scheduled for June 3, 2020.
Philadelphia Sex Worker Relief Fund: “This fund is set up by the Philadelphia Red Umbrella Alliance and Project SAFE.”
POC-SWOP: “We are a BIPOC-led chapter of the Sex Workers Outreach Project, called POC-SWOP. POC-SWOP is a response to the lack of support for (specifically black) and other POC sex workers in the Seattle area.”
Solutions Not Punishment Collaborative (SNaPCo): “Since 2013, SNaPCo has been in the strategy and spirit work of protecting the rights and dignity of Black Trans people in Atlanta, particularly sex workers, formerly incarcerated folks, and people living with HIV.” Donate here. Donate to Black Trans Sex Worker Survival Kits here.
Support Ho(s)e Collective: “The Support Ho(s)e Collective is a small Leftist formation of sex workers (current and former) and their trusted co-conspirators based in Chicago and New York City. We aim to build radical community for all sex workers through political education and public agitation. We also coordinate the Justice for Alisha Walker Defense Campaign.”
SW Emergency Mutual Aid Fund: “Black Sex Workers, Trans Sex Workers, Disabled Sex Workers, & Brown Sex Workers are still working, are doing what they can to aide other colleagues in their times of need […] I made this GoFundMe because I realized there is no Mutual Aid fund for people based in the Chicagoland area yet I continue to see swers- aiding local bond funds, helping people get food/medical supplies, donate funds as well as asking for aide, seeking refuge, and are out physically protesting.”
Washington Heights CORNER Project: “Washington Heights CORNER Project’s mission is to improve the quality of life of people who use drugs or engage in sex work.”
We Are The Ones Mutual Care Fund: “Prioritizes QTPOC, BIPOC, Sex Workers, Freelance Workers & Underground Creatives who are not eligible for food stamps, sick leave, or unemployment benefits.”
For more U.S.-based sex worker funds, here’s a list from Feminists for Liberty. Here’s a list of global covid-initiatives for sex workers from Red Umbrella Fund.
If there’s a resource we’re missing and you’d like to see it here, e-mail: 9waxnine9@gmail.com.