The POWER Report on sex-work

The Toolkit is a comprehensive report on the state of sex-work in the Ottawa area and abroad. The Toolkit was produced in partnership between POWER (Prostitutes of Ottawa-Gatineau Work, Educate and Resist) and the AIDS Committee of Ottawa. You can find it here: The Toolkit: Ottawa area sex workers speak out

***Above is a screen-shot from the rabble.ca website when I accessed this podcast. I thought that the wording of the Valentine's day ad banner at the top of the website was highly topical to the podcast lol***

Below is a relatively short podcast from rabble.ca (~12mins), it discusses some the strategies for dealing with prostitution and their drawbacks.

Show Notes:

Lawyer Katrina Pacey talks to Paul Ryan about why street-level sex workers would be just as unsafe if laws were introduced to criminalize sex work clients. Katrina also gives an update on legal challenges to change sex work laws in B.C. and Ontario. Read the Toronto Star article mentioned in this podcast.

You can find the Podcast here: 

Why criminalizing clients won't work

PIVOT towards decriminalizing sex-work

Sex-work is a highly controversial issue facing urban communities. As we have seen and heard, sex-work is often the product of poverty; a means to make money in the face of little opportunity. Sex-work has been a point of contention between different groups for a very long time (it is said to be the world's oldest profession).

Sex-work can be viewed as either legal, illegal, or somewhere in between (decriminalized). Different morals and values will change each individual's view. PIVOT is an organization pushing for the decriminalization of sex-work. They argue the illegalities of sex-work have forced it underground, where no oversight or protection can be given to sex-workers. As a result of sex-work being illegal, more harm will come to the most vulnerable person involved, the sex-worker themselves. Here are some of the things PIVOT advocates for:
    -Sex-workers having full control over their legal rights, and working conditions
    -Developing a frame-work for the implementation of decriminalization
    -Drug-policy reform
    -Affordable housing for the homeless

Economic Hardship Report for Guelph-Wellington

Hey All,

Janet found a great report on poverty within Guelph-Wellington County, and the services/policies offered. The report was created through a series of focus-groups and it offers the perspective of the people who actually use the public services the city offers. You can find it here.
Something I thought was interesting, was how someone on a limited income rationalizes the use of the city's free means of equalization and poverty reduction. For example, one woman describes how the city gives her free swim tickets for her daughter to use the rec-centre pool, but the cost of transportation is such a great barrier to reaching the pool, they cannot do so.

"They giver you 12 swim tickets, and (daughter) and I we have no money for bus fair. You've got to take your money to go down and swim that is $5.50 each way for my daughter and I, so it's really kind of counterproductive isn't it? They're giving with one hand and taking away with the other. You can't really enjoy services offered, and that's a big problem, and they wouldn't give us bus tickets to go."


A lot of other topics are covered, such as the state of housing, food security, healthcare, recreation, and legal issues. One thing I haven't been able to fully comprehend since moving to Guelph, is why University students get such a great deal on the bus pass, while other disenfranchised community members pay more.

"If I didn't have a lift to get into work Sunday nights, I had to take a cab and I'm a single mom making this money so why is it they can cater to University students, but they can't cater to the rest of us? The community that can't afford vehicles and need the transit system, you know?"


The follow up report from 2011, can be found here:

Economic Hardship in Wellington County: A follow-up Report to the Community Researcher Project: Exploring Economic Hardship in Guelph and Wellington, April 2011

does love make being homeless, less like being homeless?

I really like pet doggies. I have always had pet dogs growing up, but I feel it is only now I am beginning to appreciate the dog/man relationship.
I am fascinated by homeless and their dogs. While the vast majority of people disassociate themselves with the homeless, canines are blind to the conditions of their homeless master and provide unconditional love. Having a pooch around is also probably a good way to be alerted to people trying to steal your stuff, while you sleep; a problem clearly identified in the last video. The comment sections of this website, also brought up some other benefits of having a canine companion, such as keeping you warm on those cold nights. Check it out if you have a minute!

Fifth Estate on Homelessness

The Fifth Estate did a show about homelessness in the DTES; I found it pretty interesting. The Youtube videos are segmented, so I picked one that answered a question I had been pondering: How do homeless people sleep? It was sort of touched upon in Streets of Gold, but this gentleman does a better job of explaining the situation. I'll admit I teared up a bit when he described his lack of roots.
He also has a good take on the Insite Clinic, and its role in the homeless community. During the interview he sort of describes this internal conflict he constantly goes through, and rationalizes its endless cycle.



Check out the other segments of the video if you have time.

Homelessness is Hamilton

Hello PSC Vancouver,

On Thursday (Feb 9th) we have the privilege of speaking to Suzanne Swanton, a Street Outreach Worker from Hamilton. Suzanne's experience has given her great perspective on the systemic issues of homelessness and urban poverty in own backyard. I was hoping we could all think of some questions to ask Suzanne; in hopes of filling in any gaps of knowledge we have.
I'll be posting some resources to provide some insight into youth homelessness, and homeless in Hamilton specifically.

Above, I have posted a report on homelessness in Hamilton, found here. 3600 people utilized Hamilton's shelters in 2009, which is pretty significant for a city with a population of 500 000. I found it most interesting that the great utilizers of the shelter service are people 40+ years of age. I had thought the greatest shelter users would have been younger.