The Young Women's Empowerment Project has four main program components.
Girls in Charge- Our paid weekly leadership group open to new girls. After Open Time you can stay for a GIRLS in CHARGE meeting from 7-8:30pm every Thursday (Please note that GIC will NOT meet from March 27th-June 10th)
Girls in Charge is the leadership group that makes all of the major decisions at YWEP.
Some things we have done at GIC in the past are:
Girls get paid for their work in GIC!
We offer bus fare and $20.00 to any girl who stays and works during the meeting!
Social Justice- After girls have completed the Outreach Worker training, girls can go on to get involved with our social justice work and campaigns! If you have a question about social justice contact dominique@youarepriceless.org
The Young Women's Empowerment Project also offers Popular Education Workshops in other settings. If you are in a detention facility, group home, treatment center or if you work for a non profit organization, college or other group that would like us to come and educate girls or staff about the sex trade- contact isa@youarepriceless.org or cindy@youarepriceless.org
At the Young Women's Empowerment Project girls can get involved right away!! If you are between the ages of 12-23 and have experience trading sex for money, drugs, a place to stay, survival needs, gifts or protection or gang involvement — then feel free to come by.
YWEP is open to any person who identifies as girl.. that means transgender girls are welcome here!
We have an Open Time every Thursday from 4-7pm where girls can:
After Open Time you can stay for a GIRLS in CHARGE meeting from 6:30-8:00pm every Thursday (Please note that GIC will NOT meet from March 27th-June 10th)
Girls in Charge is the leadership group that makes all of the major decisions at YWEP.
Some things we have done at GIC in the past are:
Girls get paid for their work in GIC!
We offer bus fare and $20.00 to any girl who stays and works during the meeting!
Girls and young women currently or previously in the sex trade learn how to offer one-to-one harm reduction information and support to other girls impacted by the sex trade on issues of sexual and reproductive health, street law, and positive options for health and safety for girls using drugs or active in the sex trade in a 40 hour training course we have developed as experienced trainers. This course is designed to be interactive and builds on the knowledge girls already possess.
After graduating from the training, girls are eligible to give harm reduction support, information resources and health supplies like condoms to girls in the sex trade through an outreach plan of their own making. YWEP outreach workers fill out booklets about each outreach time and receive on-going support and development. Girls receive $30 cash stipends for their participation in each 2 ½ hour training session and each 2 ½ hour outreach opportunity a week.
Popular education is more than making sure that everyone participates in workshops. Activists for decades have been using popular education practice to work together as educators and learners to open up problems and ask critical questions like: who benefits, why is it this way and what can be done to change the systems that affect us?
Our workshops on the sex trade with girls offer practical information like on myths and realities but mostly we are engaged in a process with young people across the city to question why the sex trade exists, why girls are involved and what can be done about it?
Our skill building workshops offer training to girls inside our project to improve their knowledge and abilities to take on leadership. We also offer workshops to organizations and collaboratives that want to improve their ability to work with girls and young women impacted by the sex trade.
The Young Women's Empowerment Project believes that every one deserves access to clean syringes and safer drug use information.
We offer a syringe exchange that is for GIRLS on THURSDAYS ONLY.
This means that any girl between the ages of 12-23 can stop by our offices between 4pm-7pm to pick up clean rigs and works or talk to other girls who get it.
If you have questions about HIV, Hep C, Vein Care or general questions about drugs we can answer those when you come to pick up.
You dont have to give your name or any other information to access syringes. You dont have to join our project or pay for anything. Everything is free and annonymous and super quick!