Come celebrate with us!

Transition

Hello friends,

Since the fall of 2007, HUSTLE has been a program of PEERS Vancouver Resource Society www.peersvancouver.com , offering the male/youth component to PEERS programs and services. While at PEERS, HUSTLE has been very successful at sharing knowledge and best practices by integrating sex worker supports through a male lens. Through PEERS, HUSTLE has been effective at offering outreach and support programming to male sex workers (MSW) as well as supporting youth who may be at risk of sexual exploitation. HUSTLE would like to express our deepest gratitude to Executive Director Ty Mistry as well as the dedicated staff and board at PEERS for their tireless commitment to supporting our ongoing efforts in community. Most importantly, HUSTLE acknowledges all the clients, former and current, for their personal resilience and commitment to change. It is a privilege to work alongside all of you toward a healthier and safer community for us all.

Due to systemic changes in government funding for employment programs which began in 2010, PEERS as a non-profit organization will itself, significantly change over the next year. By March 2012, PEERS will have gone through extensive internal program restructuring as well as experience considerable downsizing of its staff and services. This change has necessitated HUSTLE to transition our program to another host organization able to effectively house and facilitate our ongoing efforts in community.

As of January 2012, HUSTLE will become a program of HIM - Health Initiative for Men www.checkhimout.ca a gay men’s community based health organization dedicated to strengthening the health and well-being of gay men and other men who have sex with men (OMSM).  HIM’s approach includes physical, sexual, social and mental health programming, research and support. Through HIM, HUSTLE will continue to deliver a program relevant to male sex workers and youth and is excited about opportunities to develop new ways of engaging with other populations of OMSM, youth and individuals in our communities.

Exciting times ahead J

Matthew Taylor

Program Director

HUSTLE: Men on the Move

Sex Work in Canda - Research Opportunity

Thank you for taking the time to read this request! We are trying to get as many people involved as possible!

I'm a PhD student based in Vancouver, BC, and I am the lead researcher on a project exploring occupational health and safety in the off-street sex industries across Canada. The research team itself consists of a diverse group of sex workers from across Canada and we are hoping you might be interested in sharing your opinions and perspectives on some of the issues facing sex workers in Canada. The research comprises both an online survey (www.workviolence.ca) and in-depth interviews, but if you are interested, you could participate however you would like- with the survey, doing a phone or internet-based interview, or doing both!

Our previous work was used in the Ontario Charter challenge to show that the sex industries in Canada are extremely diverse and that generalizations about the industry are simply untrue. This current project will be the most comprehensive study on the off-street side of the industry to date in Canada as it includes all genders and all forms of off-street work. We hope to identify forms of victimization, including how the laws and law enforcement affect your work, workplace conditions, and sex industry workers' recommendations for policy change. Ultimately, we hope to enlighten current policies, practices and understandings pertaining to sex industry work by including the voices of all persons working in the industry.

Anyhow, if this has piqued your interest at all, please do check out our website (it is completely secure and participation in the survey is anonymous).

Thank you so much!

Tamara O'Doherty, Ph.D Student, School of Criminology, Simon Fraser University.
www.workviolence.ca
778.772.2998