Temporary shelter to open for female sex workers in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside

A much-wanted emergency shelter for sexual intercourse workers—one of the very first of its variety in Canada—will shortly start in the Downtown Eastside.

In about 4 to 6 weeks, Would like Fall-In Centre Culture will be opening and functioning this shelter, positioned at 340 Alexander Avenue, that will be devoted to woman sexual intercourse employees (such as individuals who are cisgender, trans, and two-spirit).

This new shelter will be open up 24 hrs seven times a 7 days, and will offer 23 beds as well as warm showers, laundry facilities, and warm foods.

While some beds will be provided for limited-time period use, most of the beds will be allocated for extended-time period stays through lookups for long lasting housing alternatives. Sexual intercourse employees at the shelter will be able to continue using WISH’s applications, providers, and wraparound supports, such as literacy programming supportive employment transitioning, exiting, or retiring supports Indigenous programming and music remedy.

WISH’s backlot also properties a five-toilet washroom trailer and an out of doors secure respite region. (The washroom trailer is just one of a few trailers funded by the Town to supply sanitation and assist for individuals in the Downtown Eastside and on Kingsway.)

The Town of Vancouver is delivering house to Would like for a nominal lease, and Would like will hire around 35 peers to preserve the house, offer peer assist, and supply overdose avoidance or reversal supports. 

Would like government director Mebrat Beyene said in a news launch that this is the very first shelter of its variety in this nation for road-based mostly sexual intercourse employees.

“A shelter solely for sexual intercourse employees has been a need to have for pretty some time, but COVID has now deeply exacerbated the pre-current crises of poverty, homelessness, and a poisoned drug supply,” Beyene described. “A short term, emergency shelter like this is definitely critical—now much more than at any time.”

Would like, which has operated for nearly 40 years, runs a drop-in centre at 330 Alexander Avenue, open up for eighteen hrs each and every working day, where woman sexual intercourse employees can acquire warm meal, use showers, gather apparel and personalized care goods, satisfy with a nurse practitioner, acquire damage-reduction materials, share security warnings, and connect with some others. More info is readily available at the Would like web site.

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