Since 2004, Living in Community (LIC) has been working to make all community members in Vancouver healthier and safer in relation to the impacts of sex work.
LIC recognizes that lasting change only happens when groups work collaboratively. Little is achieved when people work in opposition to one another. With representation from diverse groups such as residents, neighbourhood houses, business associations, community policing centres, government, non-profit agencies and sex workers, LIC continues to provide a unique model for how to address very challenging social issues.
Vision
LIC’s vision is to create communities that are healthier and safer in relation to sex work and sexual exploitation for each and every community member.
Values
- embrace diversity and be respectful of everyone
- enable participation
- encourage learning and self-growth as a path to change
- take a stance against exploitation and social injustice
- enable understanding and build community
- listen and be open to different perspectives
Objectives
- build greater awareness, dialogue and responsiveness from multiple stakeholders
- reduce and prevent sexual exploitation
- increase direct services
- increase housing availability and accessibility
- affect policy and legal change
- create employment and training opportunities as alternatives to sex work
History
Living in Community grew out of concerns at the neighbourhood level about the impacts of sex work on all community members. Resident groups, neighbourhood houses, business improvement associations, community policing centres, government agencies, non-profit organizations and sex workers recognized that changes were required immediately and that collaboration was the only way forward.
During the initial two years of the project, from 2005 to 2007, an extensive community consultation process brought these diverse groups together to engage in a dialogue about the impacts of sex work and potential solutions for change. This process resulted in the comprehensive LIC Action Plan (.pdf) with 27 broad-based recommendations to make communities healthier and safer through prevention/education, harm reduction/intervention, exiting services and legal responses.
From 2006 to 2007, through LIC’s Community Initiative for Health and Safety, diverse community members were consulted in order to create a detailed sex work toolkit. The toolkit provides practical tools, information and resources for dealing with sex work concerns and for preventing sexual exploitation.
Since 2007, LIC has been working to implement its 2007 Action Plan. At the neighbourhood level, it is demonstrating some of the strategies in the LIC model through the SAFE in Collingwood Demonstration Project. LIC also plays an important advocacy and lobbying role with government departments, the police and other community organizations about how to inclusively and respectfully address community concerns about sex work and sexual exploitation.
Steering committee members
Living in Community is governed by a steering committee with representation from the following organizations:
- BC Coalition of Experiential Communities
- City of Vancouver
- Collingwood Neighbourhood House
- Grandview Woodlands Community Policing Centre
- Hastings North Business Improvement Association
- Hustle Men on the Move
- PACE Society
- PEERS Vancouver
- Sex workers
- Vancouver residents
- Vancouver Coastal Health
- Vancouver Police Department
- WISH Drop-In Centre Society
Advisory committee members include:
Past steering committee members included:
- Broadway Youth Resource Centre
- Downtown Eastside Activity Centre (DEYAS)
- Kiwassa Neighbourhood House
- Mount Pleasant Cares
- Sex Workers Action Network (SWAN)
- Vancouver Aboriginal Council
- Strathcona Area Safety Society
