'We are part of the community': Hamilton sex-worker program set to open first physical site

Support services for sex-trade workers in Hamilton will soon have a brick-and-mortar space in the city's east end. 

The Sex Workers' Action Program (SWAP) of Hamilton is working to open its first in-person location near Barton Street and Lottridge Street, with a focus on providing support and community for sex-trade workers in the area.

Most of the services SWAP has offered — such as counselling — have been remote since its inception in 2018, executive director Jelena Vermilion said. "Now we'll have a consolidated space to offer counselling services in person, providing a more intimate personal experience during that session."

The space will also serve "as a hub for our archives, the resource materials that we provide and the storage space for our outreach program," Vermilion added. "Having that close to 'the stroll' will make it a lot more streamlined."

The lease for the SWAP location on Barton was signed April 19 and Vermilion said they hope to start providing in-person support services and community outreach in May.

SWAP has been working to provide remote counselling with Arleney Jane Pitts of Hustle Heal Motivate during the past year, and the psychotherapist registered social worker said that having this space will make the services so much more accessible. 

"People that need access are in the streets, people that need that human contact... may not even have a phone or computer," Pitts said. "This is going to change things so much and make a huge shift in access to sex workers in Hamilton."

Pitts said her personal lived experiences help her to show up in a way that is authentic for those looking for counselling services.

"A lot of social workers out there in this world want to be allies, sometimes they just don't get the needs of sex workers," Pitts said.

Though many of these allies have great intentions, "sometimes you just need to be from a certain light to get it," she said.

"Sex work is still criminalized in so many aspects and providing a space where sex workers can organize, meet and where they can actually create community is essential."

The local Business Improvement Area (BIA), representing the community of businesses in nearby Barton Village, features many service providers and SWAP will now be among them, says BIA executive director Jessica Myers.

"We welcome any new agency or organization that focuses on the health and wellbeing of our fellow Hamiltonians," Myers told CBC Hamilton, "especially those who tend to be marginalized."

People see the work that we're doing and understand that it is valuable.- SWAP Executive Director Jelena Vermilion 

Vermilion said that SWAP is committed to supporting community members, alongside other organizations like Grenfell Ministries, the AIDS Network and Sexual Assault Centre Hamilton and Area (SACHA), some of which are "harm-reduction groups as well and those who are working towards [Overdose Prevention Sites] right in the neighbourhood," Pitts said.

While these organizations are doing "brilliant and such important work," Pitts said the SWAP location will be different because of its hyper-focus on the sex-worker community.

"This is very unique because it's by and for sex workers from the community," Pitts said.

The location has been made possible from the help of the Canadian Women's Foundation, Pitts said.

The community support for SWAP's work, including reducing stigma around sex work, has been inspiring, Vermilion says.

"It shows that our goal of reducing stigma in our community is effective," Vermilion said. "People see the work that we're doing and understand that it is valuable, why it is required and why it is needed in our community."

A few doors down from SWAP's new location, Mike Jensen — owner of bakery Mikey's Cream Pies — said he is supportive of the organization's efforts as they align with his business's core value of inclusivity.

"We at Mikey's support the efforts of SWAP in bringing much-needed assistance and supports to Hamilton's sex workers," Jensen said. 

For Vermilion and Pitts, the community support is a result of the hard work SWAP and other organizations, such as Sex Trade Alternatives and Resource Services and Angel's Angels, which also support Hamilton's sex workers.

"It's just beautiful to see how much of a shift we have come to, where people recognize that sex workers are community members," Pitts said. "We are part of the community."