Wish Drop in Centre
A few years ago a friend of mine, Mebrat Beyene, became ED of the Wish Drop in Centre Society. I hadn’t heard of the society before but living at the ARC I became very aware of the street-based Sex workers. When Mebrat asked me if I was interested in taking some photos for the society to help with funding applications and such, I said yes! The work the Society does, and all of the people who work and volunteer there are incredible.
When COVID hit, most of the outreach programs in the Downtown Eastside shut down, leaving many without any help or shelter. Wish was there, and pushing government officials (provincial and Municipal) to do something. Through activism and tragedy, Wish gained some big strides, washrooms within their compound and A Drop in centre.
From the Wish Website: Women can come to our nightly Drop-In Centre 365 days per year, and find a safe place to rest, have a hot meal, shower and connect with community. We check the safety of women working on the streets, and offer harm reduction supplies, through our Mobile Access Project (MAP) Van which drives across the city every night. Women also have access to far-reaching opportunities designed to enable longer-term support, such as our Learning Centre, Supportive Employment Program and Music Therapy Program.
I was honoured to photograph at Wish during lock down, and more recently for the new over night space.
