HIV Community Link, Calgary

This program offers support, outreach, and education to women across the spectrum of sex work and sexual exploitation. The goals are to enhance the wellness, safety and stability of women actively working, and to support those who want to exit sex work. Taking a harm-reduction and human-rights based approach, the program works to reduce vulnerability and increase safety, remove barriers to services, and reduce social isolation. A case manager provides counselling based on where the client is in her journey. Shift has an open-door policy and offers ongoing support, recognizing that leaving the sex industry is most often experienced as a process.

Grant amount: $20,000