Pilot project sheds light, warmth on Vanier's prostitutes
03.12.2008 23:38
Health
- Source: cbc.ca
An aboriginal community organization is reaching out to Vanier's prostitutes as part of a city-funded project to find out more about the women who sell sex on the streets of the east-end Ottawa neighbourhood. Minwaashin Lodge sends a van called STORM (sex trade outreach mobile) out on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday nights to offer help and support to local prostitutes in whatever form they might need. "We bring them to a safe spot and provide them with clothes if they need it, juice, a chocolate bar, just somebody to talk to," said Jessica Dumont, one of two outreach workers hired with a $77,000 municipal grant to staff the van until the project ends at the end of March. The project started 10 weeks ago after complaints from local businesses about the number of street prostitutes in the neighbourhood. In response, the city wanted to find out more about who ends up working the streets in Vanier and what kind of support they need, said Mary Montgomery, director of Oshki Kizis Lodge, an aboriginal women's support centre at Minwaashin Lodge. Each night that the van is running, Dumont and co-worker Kimberly Mansfield pack it with winter jackets, hats mitts, boots, food such as tangerines, chocolate bars and chips, and toiletries such as tampons and soap before heading out at around 7 p.m. They don't come back until 4 a.m. The workers hand out bright pink business cards and ask prostitutes to call them on their cell phones if they need anything. They said the calls start coming in around midnight, and most nights they help about 20 women. Most want a ride to a shelter, but some have been in the midst of very urgent situations. "We've picked up women fleeing abuse at that very moment," Dumont said. Last week, a woman called to say she was freezing, so the van brought her a shipping blanket. 85 per cent of prostitutes homelessMansfield said there is a high level of homelessness in Ottawa. "I think the fallout from that typically tends to be people surviving however, by whatever means they can survive and tragically that's not always the healthiest thing," she said, adding that about 85 per cent of the women served by her program are homeless. Many are also addicted to drugs, but Mansfield said she doesn't think that's why they are homeless. Rather, she said drugs are a coping mechanism that allows them to do what they need to do to survive on the streets. "Do I do think that any one of the women that we are privileged to work with, would they choose to be there? No, absolutely not." Montgomery said she hopes the city will keep the program running after next March. Story Tools: E-MAIL | PRINT | Text Size: SMLXL | REPORT TYPO | SEND YOUR FEEDBACKRelatedInternal LinksAUDIO: Rebecca Zandbergen rides along with STORMHealth HeadlinesHealth care often inaccessible to Inuit: reportInuit have far less contact with doctors than the average Canadian, particularly in the northern communities where few have hospitals, a new Statistics Canada report says.Self-embedding of objects in body a puzzling teen disorderSome teens are wounding themselves and embedding objects such as paper clips and glass to cope with disturbed thoughts and feelings, say U.S. doctors who are looking for ways to remove the objects safely.Add sleep break for doctors in training: reportDoctors training at hospitals should limit how long they work without a sleep break to reduce the chances of fatigue-related medical errors and improve their learning environment, an expert panel in the U.S. recommended.Online stem cell therapies 'not ready for prime time,' study cautionsA Canadian study says consumers should be wary of web-based clinics that offer unproven stem cell therapies for numerous diseases.Ontario adds 6 new drugs to coverage listOntario added six new prescription drugs, including a long-lasting form of insulin and a colorectal cancer medication, to its list of those covered by the Ontario Public Drug Programs. Health FeaturesWEEKLY CHECKUPPutting kids firstLessons from Madonna and GuyIN DEPTHCholeraNUTRITIONTrans fatsGirl Guides moving away from 'bad' fats FOOD SAFETYJuice boxes Reports of leaks prompt CFIA investigationVIDEODodaAddictive poppy derivative poses challenge to police (2:18)CAMPUS CRACKDOWNDrunken studentsA problem that is well past the tippling pointPeople who read this also read …
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