Celebrating 5 years of one-to-one support for participants
Quotes below provided by WISH participants, shared with their permission.
InReach at WISH started in January 2020 when two workers began providing individualized support to WISH participants. This proved to be an effective way to connect folks with the programs and services that best meet their needs.
The Program currently includes two InReach Workers, a Housing Support Worker, and the InReach Program Manager.
For women and gender-diverse people with experience in street-based sex work, systemic forces like sexism, transphobia and the criminalization of sex work create barriers to accessing housing, labour rights, health care, and much more.
Wow, usually no one will listen. I’ve told people so many times this was an issue, but no one actually helped me.
Many participants rely on WISH for access to essential services like food, clothing and showers. Then, once their immediate and urgent needs are met, participants can choose to seek assistance achieving longer term goals.
That’s where the InReach team steps in.
Participants can book time with InReach workers, who help connect them to WISH programs and other resources within the organization, as well as external agencies and services.
Most one-to-one appointments happen at WISH, but InReach and Housing Support Workers have the flexibility to assist participants in the community as well.
Y’all have saved my life so many times.
High staff turnover in frontline work often leads to a situation where the person seeking services must tell their story over and over. This creates yet another barrier to access, preventing the opportunity to build a trusting relationship.
We are incredibly proud to share that there has been very little staff turnover in the first 5 years of the program at WISH. When a team member has had to step away, the transition has been handled with great care to preserve the trusted connections they have built.
InReach and Housing Support Workers prioritize self-determination, supporting participants to access what they need, in a respectful, non-judgmental environment.
I have options now, thanks to you. Usually, I have to hide or only share certain parts of the information to avoid people knowing stuff. I can tell you anything.
Individualized support is exactly that – determined by the individual. This may include replacing ID, establishing a bank account, or creating an email address.
The InReach team also assists with complex goals like securing and maintaining long-term housing, submitting Federal Indian Day School or 60s Scoop settlement claims, navigating the process to claim refugee status, or preparing for surgery.
The types of support needed are so diverse, InReach Workers have compiled a list tracking the specific requests they have responded to. In the past 5 years, that list has grown to include over 150 different examples of support.
I haven’t done my taxes before because I didn’t know how to file as a sex worker. I didn’t really want to tell the people there I’m a sex worker, because, well, you know what happens then. You made it so easy.
In the WISH community, conditions of extreme inequity exist alongside incredible community activism and resilience.
This program helps to prove that, even while facing great disparity and discrimination, women and gender-diverse street-based sex workers are transforming their lives through access to free and healthy choices.
As one InReach Worker said, “when we work one-on-one with folks, we hear about their stories, ambitions and talents. WISH participants are the most incredible, kind, and brilliant people. To support such amazing people through parts of their journey is an opportunity I’m grateful for.”
It’s nice when sex work doesn’t become my whole identity, my whole thing. I’m a lot more than that. It’s my job, it’s not everything. People find that out and suddenly that’s what you are, it’s all you are. Not here, here I can laugh and actually talk to someone who will listen and help me.
While this program provides support through a lot of difficult situations, it also creates avenues for fun and laughter, an integral part of the human experience and an essential element of mental health.
InReach is bitchin’ – you’re a real one.
Also facilitated by InReach
Red Light Alert- Sex Worker Circle
- Participant consultations
- Monthly participant birthday parties
- Special event programming (Sex Worker Pride Day, National Indigenous Peoples Day, Orange Shirt Day, Red Dress Day, International Sex Workers’ Rights Day, International Women’s Day).
Community partnerships
- The Ministry of Social Development & Poverty Reduction, Community Integration Specialist
- Kilala Lelum Mobile Health Clinic
- Atira’s Early Resolution Community Justice Program
- Rise Women’s Legal Clinic, Community Outreach Advocate
- Salal Sexual Violence Support Centre, Victim Services Worker
- Intensive Housing Outreach Team (IHOT)
InReach Program statistics (2020-2025):
| One-to-one appointments | 3,155 |
| Instances of support | 9,047 |
| Internal referrals | 3,768 |
| External referrals | 4,768 |
| Off-site appointments | 160 |
| Housing placements | 62 |
| Housing transfers | 13 |
| Support through eviction | 32 |
This article is part of WISH’s March 2025 Newsletter, which also includes: