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- Drop-In Centre/Wellness Clinic
- Counselling
- Housing Overdose Prevention and Peer Services
- Night Outreach
- Housing and Community Support
- BIPOC Indoor Workers Group
- Immigrant and Migrant Outreach Program
- Peer Health Advocacy Training
- Violence Prevention & Response
- Victoria’s “Bad Date & Aggressor” Sheet
- HUSTLE @ Peers
- Trans, Non-Binary, 2‑Spirit Sex Workers Virtual Support Group
- Indoor Workers Dinner and Education Group
- The Jannit Rabinovitch Memorial Scholarship
- Public Education
- QomQem Coastal Connections
Drop-In Centre/Wellness Clinic:
The drop-in program provides daily lunch, educational workshops, recreational and social activities, a bi-weekly health clinic, access to harm reduction supplies and information, monthly legal support from a volunteer lawyer, support staff, computers, and a household and clothing room.
Location: #1–744 Fairview Road, Victoria
Email: dropin@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.388.5325 (ext. 1)
Hours: 11:30 am — 2:30 pm Tuesday to Thursday
Counselling
Sessions for current or former sex workers. There is no formal limit on number of sessions at this time, but counsellors do have limited service hours.
To access the counselling program send an email to counselling@peers.bc.ca
Housing Overdose Prevention and Peer Services (HOPPS):
Peers Victoria works with housing providers and community partners to provide support to reduce overdoses and overdose deaths at supportive housing facilities and shelters. The HOPPS team also trains resident-responders at housing facilities to provide these same services as well for other residents.
To learn more, check out our cool graphic depicting the HOPPS logic model!
Night Outreach:
Night outreach is a community-based service located on the Victoria stroll. Each evening, two support staff deliver food, harm reduction supplies (e.g., needles, crack kits, and water), clothing, and other health and safety oriented information and supports from the Peers van.
Email: program.manager@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.744.0171
Hours: 6:30 pm — 11:00 pm Daily
Housing and Community Support:
This program supports our clients in finding and keeping stable, affordable housing. Peers administers 14 small housing subsidies on behalf of BC Housing through this program, targeting in particular the clients who are leaving transitional shelter and ready to seek market housing. The Housing and Community Support worker also networks extensively with other community agencies who provide supported housing and emergency/transitional housing. This program is primarily aimed at those affected by chronic and episodic homelessness.
Email: housing@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.415.1874 OR 250.217.5436
Hours: 10:00 am — 3:00 pm Monday to Thursday
BIPOC Indoor Workers Group
A monthly peer-based socio-educational group that aims to build community with people of colour who do not already access Peers’ internal programming. We meet to share safety & advocacy concerns and solutions, as well as information and resources relevant to sex work. Each month the group meets for dinner and a chosen guest speaker attends to provide information and answer questions (e.g. wellness professionals, financial professionals, workshops on media literacy, marketing and branding, boundaries, empowerment and more).
Contact Sola at BIPOCgroup@peers.bc.ca
Immigrant and Migrant Outreach Program
Outreach and connection for im/migrant sex workers who belong to racialized populations. We have a dinner group and advisory committee comprised of im/migrant sex workers and are learning directly from local community members on how to increase our organizational capacity to offer better support.
Outreach facilitator: JaiRui, jairuizhu@uvic.ca
Violence Prevention & Response:
A program focusing on education and support services aimed to prevent/respond to violence, and increase access to support/justice services for people who have experienced harm.
Phone: 250.744.7690
Email: prevention.lead@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.800.0807
Email: prevention2@peers.bc.ca
Victoria’s “Bad Date & Aggressor” Sheet:
Staff working across the above programs compile and distribute a “bad date” sheet and work with the Victoria Police in reporting violence against persons in the sex industry and to assist in follow up investigations and justice processes. To report a bad date, please contact any of the programs.
If you want to be added to the mailing list when our bad date/aggressor report is updated, please contact us.
Phone: 250.744.7690
Email: prevention.lead@peers.bc.ca
HUSTLE @ Peers:
HUSTLE @ Peers is a program for GBQ (Gay, Bi, Queer,) gender diverse, and masculine identified sex workers. We provide a weekly drop in space with a hot meal, access to HIV and STBBI Testing, access to harm reduction supplies, and community referrals Tuesdays 5:30–7:30pm at our office.
Email: mk.bowen@checkhimout.ca
Phone/text: 250–514-2419
Trans, Non-Binary, 2‑Spirit Sex Workers Virtual Support Group:
A weekly Zoom based support group or 1:1 support meeting for people with experience in sex work who are 2‑spirit, trans, non-binary, and/or intersex. This group meets to build community, and foster connections in a safe® and supportive space. We aim to create an inclusive environment where people can share their interests, passions, concerns, challenges, and identity. We also seek to connect participants with resources and supports as required.
Email: trans.support@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.388.5325 (ext.2)
Indoor Workers Dinner and Education Group:
A monthly dinner group for sex workers in independent and agency based indoor environments. This group meets to build community, share safety and advocacy concerns and solutions, and to gain access to key support providers in the community. Each month the group meets for dinner and one or two guest speakers representing local services (lawyers, police, members of government, tax and accounting specialists, health providers) chosen by the group attend and answer questions. For more information on joining this group, contact:
Email: indoorworkers@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.388.5325 (ext. 1)
The Jannit Rabinovitch Memorial Scholarship:
This scholarship is named after Jannit Rabinovitch, feminist and community activist, and one of the co-founders of Peers Victoria Resources Society in 1995. She continued to support Peers until the end of her life (2007). The scholarship provides funds to support *local* current and former sex workers to pursue education and job training. For more information about the application process:
Email: admin@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.388.5325 (ext. 2)
Public Education:
Peers’ staff deliver research and practice based public education to a variety of groups in the community.
Email: ed@peers.bc.ca
Phone: 250.388.5325 (ext. 7)
QomQem Coastal Connections:
QomQem Coastal Connections was developed two years ago from the outreach and cultural support offered from Peers Indigenous Outreach. While providing encampment and basic needs outreach support, the Peers Indigenous Outreach team recognized the need to bring cultural connections and community-building to Indigenous folks living outdoors.
QomQem is a grassroots Indigenous-led outreach program that offers harm reduction and health care services to Indigenous peoples who are unhoused, precariously housed, and who may be using substances and/or alcohol. We welcome our relatives and allies from diverse backgrounds, sexualities, genders, abilities, beliefs, and identities. We offer Indigenous harm reduction, health and wellness, housing and food security, cultural support, and outreach. We work in collaboration with Peers’ Sacred program. Currently, we are a team of nearly 25 people. 11 peer responders, 9 coordinators, 2 elders, and 4 drummers that we call on for sharing medicine and cultural care.
Email: director@qomqem.com
