St. James Infirmary Logo and header
Toni Newman Photo

Toni Newman
Executive Director

A Message From Our
Executive Director

St. James Infirmary in our 20th year is fighting for the equity of sex workers and trans people of color rights. Our dedicated staff of professionals and volunteers work every day supporting the theme "Sex Worker Rights are Human Rights."

Morgan Sokol Photo
Morgan Sokol Executive Vice President, Regulatory
Affairs at MedMen
I am excited we are adding
new board members with
diverse backgrounds to help us
grow and expand. We welcome
Morgan Sokol, Executive
Vice President, Regulatory
Affairs at MedMen,
to our St. James Infirmary board.

I marvel at what has been created at St. James Infirmary over its many years of caring for others. St. James Infirmary has opened my eyes to the meaning of true compassion and what's important in our lives. I would invite you to look at ways to deepen your connection to St. James Infirmary and help us expand our services to our community. We are enriching our Volunteer Program, to engage and empower volunteers at a deeper level. For those of you who wish to notch up your financial support of SJI, contact me to find out about monthly pledges, estate giving, or sponsorship of various programs.

Please consider forwarding this newsletter to a friend who may not yet know us. As always, thank you so much for your generous support of St. James Infirmary benefiting our participants who struggle every day to survive.

My very best,
Toni Newman,
Executive Director

PROGRAM UPDATE


Morgan Sokol Photo

At Folsom Street Last Year

UPCOMING EVENTS:

Come see us at Folsom Street Fair, the world’s biggest leather event, on Sunday, September 29th! Our fabulous and caring staff will be there to provide HIV, Hep C and STI (chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis) testing as well as information and support to sex workers. Come by our booth and win a prize from Mr S Leather!

SPECIAL THANKS:

To North Bay United Against Sexual Oppression & North Bay Pyrate Punx for hosting the second annual "Sirens for St James" queer showcase and fundraiser for St James Infirmary at the Pheonix Theater—we love you and thank you for your support! Thanks also to the performers, bands, raffle prize donors, volunteers and attendees for showing your support to the sex worker community.

POLICY AND ADVOCACY



Locally, St. James Infirmary is working to provide solutions to outdoor sex workers and the communities in which they work. In the wake of FOSTA/SESTA, many law enforcement agencies, SFPD included, responded to an increase in outdoor sex work by introducing arrest-or-diversion programming that often forces people to choose between two unworkable options. What those responsible for that decision failed to realize, unfortunately, is that even the programming they do provide fails to account for the realities facing many persons trading sex in the Mission and beyond.

In direct contrast to the above model of service provision via ultimatum, St. James Infirmary has petitioned for and was granted city funding to increase our outreach in the Mission. This will allow us to do two several things: First, the funding will allow us to provide more resources, testing, education, information, and presence to those trading sex in the Mission. Since our outreach program started, Outreach Director Celestina Pearl and our incredible outreach team have been working towards full weekend coverage, and this funding gets us there. Second, and just as importantly, the funding has money for housing vouchers for sex workers in the Mission who identify themselves as at risk of harm. We hope that our housing first approach to safety and violence prevention for Sex Workers will echo far beyond the Mission in the weeks, months, and years to come. Finally, SJI’s outreach will help us better understand the needs of those trading sex in the Mission as part of a larger effort to assess the needs of people in the sex trades in the Bay Area.

At the state level, St. James Infirmary is looking to champion and/or support legislation that, similar to the recently signed SB 233 (in effect January 1, 2020), directly increases autonomy for sex workers while decreasing unwanted engagement with any who would cause harm, whether they be clients, law enforcement, community members, or any combination of the three.

While all the work described above is both very exciting and very necessary, I maintain focused on building out a policy program that provides a pathway to leadership (both within St. James and beyond) for current and former Sex Workers. Very absent in the public discourse are the voices of many of those most impacted by the intersecting oppressions that Sex Workers face. As a resourced organization in this movement, it is our responsibility to invest those resources in current and former Sex Workers to pursue what they believe is in the best interest of their communities. I look forward to providing updates as soon as we get the program funded!

In solidarity
James Burch, JD
Policy and Advocacy Director

YERBA BUENA CENTER FOR
THE ARTS ANNOUNCES
THE 2019 YBCA 100



YBCA logoAn annual list honoring artists, activists, and policy makers who use their creative and collective power to create social change and move society forward.

As a 2019 honoree, St. James Infirmary is invited to attend the annual YBCA 100 Summit in San Francisco on Saturday, October 19, 2019, from 11am to 3:30pm. The Summit celebrates the honorees and builds community among the inspiring people on the list. At this invite-only event, SJI will join artists, activists, and community leaders for an afternoon of performances, dialogue, and collective dreaming, ending with a communal lunch honoring you—the people creating social change.

To see full honoree list please go to https://ybca.org/ybca-100/.

SJI EQUITY CAMPAIGN FOR SEX WORKERS AND TRANSGENDER PEOPLE OF COLOR



We are very excited to announce that we have begun our 2019–2020 fundraising campaign: "St. James Infirmary, in our 20th year, is fighting for the equity of sex workers and trans people of color."

St. James Infirmary believes that we will achieve health equity and anti-criminalization in California by focusing on providing comprehensive support to Sex Workers of Color. St. James Infirmary believes that we cannot fight for the liberation for Sex Workers and Sex Workers of Color without fighting for the liberation of Trans People of Color.

Towards those ends, we are expanding and transforming our services. We have FOUR major changes that we need your help to achieve:

First, St. James Infirmary is bringing its HIV services to Oakland. We have long desired to bring our services to Sex Workers to the East Bay, and we have finally decided that we are going to make a dedicated effort to gather the resources necessary to make it happen, starting with our HIV program.

Second, as the largest employer of Trans Women of Color in the Bay, St. James Infirmary has a responsibility to ensure that the services provided to the Trans community of Color are appropriately run. Towards that end, we are launching a new housing program specifically for the Trans Community. Details to follow!!

Third, St. James Infirmary is expanding its outreach program in the Mission. Thanks to a grant from the City of San Francisco, St. James Infirmary will have increased presence in the Mission on weekend nights, additional resources, and, importantly, a newly-formed emergency housing program for Sex Workers at risk of harm. With your help, we can continue to build out our program and serve as a model for the rest of the country!

Fourth, St. James Infirmary is conducting a needs assessment and launching a leadership development program. We are privileged to be in a place where we can use our resources to amplify the voices of marginalized sex workers in the Bay Area, and look forward to providing those interested with what they tell us they need to bring their work to the next level.

With the above in mind, we are asking St. James Infirmary’s family and supporters to become sustaining donors. As you all have noticed over the past several years, St. James Infirmary has grown into an organization that has the leadership, vision, philosophy, and organizational capacity to make it happen. What we need is the money. The dollars. The dough. The bread. The cheddar. Whatever you want to call it, we need it. And we need you to give it to us.

St. James is on the rise—we are certain that you who have been watching us know this truth as well as we do. What we are asking for now is the resources necessary to push us through this period of growth so we can complete our transition into the organization that everyone knows we can be. We thank you for your patience during our transformation. We thank you for your support. We thank you for being you, because without you, there is no us.

Please support St. James Infirmary by making a monthly donation at http://www.stjamesinfirmary.org.

SEX WORKER PRIDE DAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2019



St James Infirmary is a sex worker organization that provides harm reduction services, medical care, mental health care, and other support to our community. Many of the employees and volunteers are current and former sex workers themselves, so we are peer-led project.

This year we are celebrating our 20th anniversary! At a fabulous Gala in June, our founders were honored. We ate, drank, danced and enjoyed world-class entertainment while raising much-needed funding that will allow us to continue to grow in our ability to serve the sex workers of the Bay Area.

We are doing what we can to stay connected to the sex worker community and be sure to provide basic needs as well as a supportive ear. St James Infirmary has continued to serve street-based workers in key areas of the Bay Area with our "Naughty Nurse Mobile." As our outreach program grows, we are constantly looking for innovative ways to serve our community!

St. James recently ran a very successful OBGYN training program, educating students on how to provide excellent Transgender healthcare. Our Community Engagement program continues to train healthcare providers, students, and the general public on the importance of sex worker issues.

This year we also saw the passage of SB 233 in California, prohibiting the use of condoms as evidence of sex work and providing immunity for sex workers who seek to report violent acts, which took many years and many groups involved. We continue to push forward the fight for sex worker autonomy and are hopeful for a day where the use of condoms as evidence is eradicated worldwide!

SB 233 is a significant step towards establishing true rights and dignity of all sex workers and St James is committed to working towards the ultimate goal: decriminalization. This important effort could not be done without the support of tireless activists, allies, donors, and sex workers on the frontline of our movement.

While the staff and volunteers of St. James take pride in providing excellent care and sanctuary to all sex workers, we are driven to see people of color and transgender sex workers living their best life. If you are a current or former sex worker and need some support, please contact us, and our friendly staff will do their best to hook you up with care. We do our best to provide everything from hormone prescriptions to sexual health check-ups to a new pair of shoes. We even offer acupuncture thanks to our supportive community of healers and health care practitioners! All of our services are free and we are open to feedback as to how best to serve our community.

In Solidarity and with a deep love for all persons in the sex trades everywhere,

St. James Infirmary
www.stjamesinfirmary.org
415-554-8494
programs@stjamesinfirmary.org


For more information about Sex Worker Pride Day and to see inspiring activities and statements of sex workers all over the world go to the Global Network of Sex Work Projects here: https://www.nswp.org/news/sex-worker-pride-2019.

Volunteer Recruitment



Interested in helping out? Do you have Clinic experience, Healthcare related skills or amazing ideas on ways you want to help serve our Community? Can you commit to 6–10 hours a month (includes shifts and monthly volunteer meeting)? Join our team of dedicated volunteers in providing to the sex worker community.

St. James Infirmary prioritizes people with experience in the sex trades in the volunteer program; We welcome allies to apply, with the understanding that St. James Infirmary is a peer-based clinic.

To join our team and register for a mandatory volunteer orientation submit an online application in english or spanish. If you would like a printable .pdf or word version of our application e-mail our community engagement coordinator at community@stjamesinfirmary.org.

Volunteer Orientations are approximately once a quarter. This means it could take up to 3 months before we follow up with you so, please be patient with us. We do our best to get back to people in a timely manner, but our resources are limited. If you have submitted an application and do not hear from us within 3 months, please let us know.


Volunteer Opportunities

  • Admin/Data Entry Assistant
  • Community Room Assistant
  • Licensed Medical Clinicians
  • Syringe Access Assistants
  • Registration Assistant
  • Community Outreach Worker
  • Certified Massage Therapist
  • Intake/Peer Counselor

Researchers and Interns
If you are interested in conducting an interview or research project, or completing a student internship with St. James Infirmary, please e-mail our community engagement coordinator at community@stjamesinfirmary.org.



St. James Infirmary
730 Polk Street, 4th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94109
Main (415) 554-8494 | Fax: (415) 554-8444

Learn more and donate at stjamesinfirmary.org
Amazonsmile: http://smile.amazon.com/ch/94-3330568

 
St. James Infirmary Summer 2019 Newsletter