The Power of Consistency and Excitement About Something New!!

A Dabbling Adventure of Grand Proportion.

This Monday evening, one of the first gorgeous warm spring evenings of the season, I went on outreach with a dear friend, Kahndre 3000, from Project SAFE.  Do you guys know Project SAFE?  Go...go look them up, I'll wait.... Now...let me tell you my view on this group and why they win the Wack Off Wednesday Superhero Award  (yeah, I just made that up...but I'm pretty sure Annie Sprinkle, and Megan Andelloux have also won..)

Project SAFE is (as far as I know from casual convos with Kahndeleeza Rice) one of the only organizations that meets women where they live, work, and need services in ALL of Philadelphia.  They do this by bringing bags full of condoms, anti-septic wipes, tampons, bandaids, sterile wipes that are alcohol free (better for coochies, important Safer Sex item), resources, and bad date sheets to the sex work/heroine capital of Philly.  They then have about 1 interaction every 45 seconds with people who recognize them, depend on them, trust them, and seek them out on the street.  Who are these people?  They're....young, old, black, white, latino,  drug users, sex workers, men, women (though only women get most of those supplies), assault victims, community leaders, gay, straight, parents ...etc...).  They approached or talked to us because they recognized us.  They recognized us because someone from Project SAFE has been doing outreach and bringing non-judgemental support and care to their community for.... I think about 8 years?  A few times a week, every week, all year, for 8 years.  This means that Project SAFE has invested in this program for long enough to build relationships of trust and mutual respect.   

It's invaluable, irreplaceable, and intense to witness.  

Within 2 minutes of getting out of our car we were taking a report down to add to the Bad Date Sheet.  A woman who had never seen us (the individuals), but recognized we were Project SAFE workers- immediately started telling us about her experience while she was on a date (turning a trick?  I am clearly not someone who knows the correct language for this..).  She had been working when she got beaten, robbed, and strangled.  This was just another day in the office, was what I understood from her tone of voice.  But she was forceful in her desire to put this experience on the bad date sheet - the communities way of communicating with each other for greater common safety.  This was an opportunity for her to tell her story.  It is so important.  

Dear Project SAFE - You're important and I hope people recognize that.

Sooo...What's new and Exciting??!?  Why the Philadelphia Slut Walk...of course!  I add this to the end of this intense and sobering post because there are a million different ways to let people know that sexual assault is never ok.  It's not ok if the person's a slut, dressed provocatively, or a sex worker.  It's never ok.  The event is gonna be packed, and the more people's voices that join together the more people realize that this is an issue, and we should do something about it.

Plus- maybe the SlutWalk wants to talk to Project SAFE? Who knows...

love!

An-eating-a-sobering-amounting-of-humble-pie,-realizing-how-much-there-is-to-do-Donkey.