WISH Drop-In Centre Society

Established in 1984. Operated by women for the exclusive use of female survival sex workers, the WISH Drop-In Centre Society is a registered non-profit society that furnishes a variety of services within a nurturing and non-judgmental environment. In addition to meeting essential needs by serving nutritious, hot meals, providing showering facilities, dispensing make-up, hygiene items, and clothing for up to 120 women each night, WISH offers on-site nursing care, referrals to detox, treatment and shelters. Our programs, including Supported Employment and a Learning Centre, have been successful in providing opportunities for participants to engage in positive, empowering activities in a safe place. The Mobile Access Project, an overnight support van born of a partnership of WISH and PACE, is key in addressing the needs of women engaging in sex work in the night when there are few options available to them. In 1984, WISH began as a Drop-In Centre for young men and women at St. Michael&s;s Anglican Church as part of the Anglican Street Ministry for Youth. In 1986, after a 3-month closure, it reopened for women only. The spring of 1987 marked a turning point for WISH when there was a concerted effort to eliminate prostitution in Mount Pleasant, using new prostitution laws resulting in termination of funding for the Anglican Street Ministry for Youth. It was only through the generosity of the First United Church in donating space that WISH was able to survive. First United welcomed WISH on December 4, 1987 at Hastings and Gore, in the heart of the Downtown Eastside. In 1991 WISH was registered as a non-profit society and in 1998 it received charitable status with Revenue Canada. Since then the numbers have increased from 5 or 6 women a night to the present 80 to 120 women.