Different Avenues strives to protect the health, rights and safety of girls and women of color who engage in alternative economies and activities and are affected by systemic and interpersonal violence and health disparities. By developing leaders and providing harm reduction services, Different Avenues seeks to strengthen and support girls and women of color who engage in survival strategies and build their power within the reproductive justice movement. In 2011, Different Avenues will be one of the lead US-based organizers in preparation for the International AIDS Conference in 2012, working to ensure the representation of sex workers’ concerns and strategies in that space. Link: Different Avenues
Different Avenues was funded in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. They are based in the Northeast and work in Anti-Violence, Criminal/Legal System, Harm Reduction, Policy Advocacy and Sex Work & Sex Trade utilizing Direct Services, Leadership Development and Research.
Just Be, Inc., based in Selma, AL, helps young women who have suffered from sexual abuse, assault, and exploitation to transform from victims into survivors. The Breitbart Memorial Fund grant allowed the Me Too program to hire a consultant for the development of the Survivor’s Leadership Training curriculum. Link: Just Be, Inc.
Just Be, Inc. was funded in 2007. They are based in the Southeast and work in Community Health & Healing, Harm Reduction and Sexual Violence.
The National Sex Worker of Color Network's Leadership Development Institute (LDI) is a collaborative effort on the part of Different Avenues, Young Women's Empowerment Project and Women with a Vision. The LDI will foster leadership among people of color involved in sex work or the sex trade to build a national network of activists who can support policy analysis, community-based research, and develop joint strategies with other social justice movements.
National Sex Worker of Color Leadership Development Institute was funded in 2010. They are based in the Nationwide and work in Anti-Violence, Harm Reduction, Movement Building, Organizing & Advocacy, Racial Justice and Sex Work & Sex Trade utilizing Leadership Development.
St. James Infirmary is the only peer-led occupational health and safety clinic run by and for sex workers in the US. St. James Infirmary also operates the STRIDE program, which provides appointment-based hormone therapy services as well as drop-in clinic hours and a support group series for transgender sex workers. In 2011, St. James Infirmary will launch a new research project to assess the consequences of condoms-as-evidence policies and the health impact of sex workers' encounters with the police. Link: St. James Infirmary
St. James Infirmary was funded in 2008, 2009 and 2010. They are based in the West and work in Community Health & Healing, Criminal/Legal System, Harm Reduction, HIV/AIDS, Sex Work & Sex Trade and Trans Health utilizing Direct Services and Political/Peer Education.
Women with a Vision (WWAV) seeks to promote wellness and disease prevention for women and their families living at or below the poverty line through health promotion, advocacy, and community based research. WWAV is a harm reduction organization that has, in response to the rapidly changing political context in New Orleans, adopted a focus on women who are impacted by street economies, the sex trade, who are or were formerly engaged in sex work, or who are homeless or street-based. With Third Wave’s support, WWAV will increase the engagement of young people in their NO Justice Project, which challenges the criminalization of sex work under the Louisiana Statute 14:89, the Solicitation of a Crime Against Nature (SCAN) statute. This statute is currently being challenged in federal courts. Link: Women With A Vision
Women With A Vision was funded in 2010. They are based in the Southeast and work in Anti-Violence, Community Health & Healing, Criminal/Legal System, Harm Reduction, Organizing & Advocacy and Sex Work & Sex Trade utilizing Direct Services, Leadership Development and Research.
The Young Women’s Empowerment Project (YWEP) is a youth leadership organization grounded in harm reduction and social justice organizing by and for girls and young women, including transgender women (ages 12-23) impacted by the sex trade and street economies. In 2011 YWEP will continue to operate the Bad Encounter Line, through which girls and young women can report their experiences with institutional violence. Through the Chicago Task Force for Homeless, Homefree and Street Based Youth, YWEP will help author and promote the adaptation of a Street Youth Bill of Rights among youth-serving organizations in Chicago. Link: Young Women’s Empowerment Project
Young Women’s Empowerment Project was funded in 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. They are based in the Midwest and work in Community Health & Healing, Criminal/Legal System, Harm Reduction, Organizing & Advocacy and Sex Work & Sex Trade utilizing Leadership Development, Political/Peer Education and Research.