NEW RESEARCH FINDINGS LEAD TO the ‘Street Youth Rise Up’ Campaign: To change the way Chicago sees and treats its homeless, home-free and street based youth who do what they have to do to survive.

Because Young Women’s Empowerment Project’s [YWEP] new research- called The Bad Encounter Line [BEL]– shows that girls and transgender girls and all street based young people in Chicago are being denied help from systems set up to serve our needs: We are coming together on Friday, Sept 30th in the Lakeview (Boystown Area) at 3:30PM on the corner of Belmont and Broadway to march as a peaceful action. This demonstration is to alert others that we are tired of being criminalized for our survival in this city. The march will lead into a Speak out at Alternatives Inc. where we will have many youth come to share their talents and voices. We demand accountability for the criminalization of our survival, and require the basic necessities that helping systems are not providing our community.

New Research: BAD ENCOUNTER LINE FINDINGS: The BEL is a way to report bad experiences street based youth have had with institutions and tracks the neighborhood, gender and time of day so YWEP can learn more about how we are being denied help. Since 2009, 146 Bad Encounters have been filed over the computer, via phone, text and through filling out a paper form. Of these 146 encounters, 20% (the largest percentage) was in the Lakeview area with Police & Health Care as the most likely institutions found to deny help or cause violence to youth involved in the sex trade and street economy.

A full report will be released during the march and speak out and shows details information and graphs.

WHO WE ARE: YWEP HISTORY: The Young Women’s Empowerment Project (YWEP) is a member based social justice organizing project that is led by and for young people of color who have current or former experience in the sex trade street economies. Our mission is to offer safe, respectful, free-of-judgment spaces for girls and young women in the sex trade to recognize their goals, dreams and desires. YWEP is Chicago based project that was founded in 2002 by a radical feminist and harm reduction based collective of women and girls involved in the sex trade and our allies. We were created by women and girls who believe that any girl can be empowered and that all girls are priceless, creative, and smart and can be leaders in their communities.

WHY WE ARE DOING THIS: HISTORY, RESEARCH & HISTORY ABOUT THE BAD ENCOUNTER LINE: In 2009, YWEP completed a youth led research study on ways girls and transgender girls in the sex trade & street economy are resistant and resilient to violence. In this research we looked at two categories of violence, individual and institutional. Although both categories had surprising results, we were most surprised at the amount of girls and transgender girls facing violence from institutions- like police, hospitals, social services and even Department Children and Family Service.

We wanted to tackle this problem from a community organizing approach from this idea the Bad Encounter Line (BEL) was born. The BEL is a way to report bad experiences you have had with institutions and tracks the neighborhood, gender and time of day so YWEP can learn more about how we are being harmed.

We also started a task force called “Street Youth in Motion” who organized this march and wrote a Street Youth Bill of Rights (attached) that we want all non-profits to sign to make them accountable to us and can’t get away with denying us help!

For more information contact Angel@youarepriceless.org

READ OUR STREET YOUTH BILL OF RIGHTS!

Over the past year, we’ve been busy collecting Bad Encounters from all across the city. Recording institutional violence, and giving youth an opportunity to speak out, against these helping systems that don’t seem to be reaching our community. To date we have collected 132 plus Bad Encounters, we are still trying to collect more, but we are at that point in our data where we are culling and coding in hopes of finding a target, for our Street Youth in Motion Taskforce. Pushing our Street Youth Rise Up Campaign’s goal to change the way Chicago sees and treats its Homeless, Homefree, and Street-based youth for doing what they have to do to survive.

Yes it is that time, our Taskforce is moving forward!!! Our next meeting September 16^th at the BYC will be the last opportunity for us to both come together before we march through our streets, and make some noise for the whole city to hear. We are coming together to publicly release our Street Youth Bill of Rights, and to get our campaign going and we’re getting everybody involved. We ask that if you wish to be a part of this planning process, that you be 25 years of age and younger, or bring a youth with you. Food and bus fare will be provided. Our time now, we have a location and a date and all we need is you and the streets!!!!! That’s RIGHT people!!!  It’s time for Chicago’s Street Youth to RISE Up!!!!!  September 30^th is the date and Alternative’s Inc. is the place we will be holding our speak out, located on 4730 North Sheridan Road Chicago, IL. We are going to let the whole city know we are ready for some accountability, and ready to receive the rights to our basic survival needs!!!!!. We are so lucky to have such a great host for our speak out, and a great way for us to come together, after we take back our streets and MARCH for our rights!!!!! Stay tuned more details to come soon, Meeting place for the march will be posted shortly. It’s time for us to make our city listen to us, about our right to survive!!!! This will definitely be one for the books. Please come out and support we look forward to seeing you all there.

Last Friday we kicked things back of with an amazing taskforce meeting, pushing forward with our campaign goals.  Great to see new faces, ready to fight for our rights. Breaking into groups, to push our force out there, can get people ready to listen to us, speak up and speak out!!! So inspiring to see our force growing, look out Chicago!!!! You will be hearing us roar, about what is rightfully ours. Enjoy the heat because we coming out in the fall, taking the streets back, voicing our need for all to hear!!!!

Saturday was another great one we were out there for the 6^th annual Latino LGBTQA Pride Picnic. Cooking up some burgers, and serving out some Movement Building!! It was great to connect with some amazing youth from The Center for Change. Look forward to building with them more around our campaign and many more ways we will stand in Solidarity with them. So many great people came out almost felt like a family gathering, and it was great to have this opportunity to surround ourselves with our allies. Our very own C. Angel Torres even got on the stage, for the drag show, bringing out Christopher Love who has been hiding from the public stage far too long. Well their back and hope to grace Latino Pride’s stage for many years to come.

YWEP has been extra busy with campaign work, from taskforce meeting to culling our Bad Encounter Line.  We still managed to find time to write an article for The Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls & Young Women latest Occasional Paper Series. Written by myself C. Angel Torres and Naima Paz we are very excited to be a part of this special paper series that seems to be putting youth at the forefront.   This article is all about our Bad Encouter Line and was even featured on the blog Feministing!

I would also like to take a moment out to thank, all of our allies, friends, and monthly sustainers. We could not be lucky enough to be doing this work if it wasn’t for you!!! I’d like to remind you though, we are still in the process of trying to build our independent base through our friends of YWEP monthly sustainers program we are asking folks to give $5 dollars, or whatever you can afford a month, to help us keep afloat in these tough economic times, I’m sure your aware fundraising is hard, but with you behind us, we can continue to push forth, and reach hundreds of girls through our outreach. You have no idea how much this means to us. So in gratitude for signing up to be a monthly sustainer we will send you our new Christie Road Campaign poster, and some Friends of YWEP buttons!!! If you can give more than $5 a month we will send you our exclusive limited edition silk screen campaign poster, few are even aware of its existence!!

We have been busy redesigning our website, over the past few months. We are now Live!! You see the amazing design Susanna Kim has come up with us!  It will be much easier to access and viewable for everyone.

Our Research Coordinator Naima Paz, has been busy working on our needle exchange thinking of how we can better meet the needs of our constituency. So she has decided to lead a new research project specifically around Needle Exchange to identify the best practices and barriers for working with young people involved in the syringe exchanges towards the goal of helping more young people access adult operated exchanges and equipping young people with information to start their own youth run exchanges in other cities. So during this process we need your help spread the word!! We are trying to reach as many needle exchanges across the country as possible. Whether youth-led, youth program, or all adult we need your help, if you are a part of a needle exchange please email Naima Paz at naima@youarepriceless.org.

So the Allied Media Conference has come and gone were you there? Well I’m sure you know it’s always a weekend to remember. But did ya know? We released our awesome campaign CD there. Named Street Youth in M.o.t.i.o.n., Moving on The Institution of our Needs, created by our staff and membership. Promise this is one you want in your collection. Be sure to pick up your copy!!! We also held an amazing workshop. Called Street Youth Rise Up! Collective Media for Healing & Action!! This will break down all the campaign work we’ve been doing this past year, and what we’ve learned. As well as passing it along, we brought our attendee’s into the work, and gave them the opportunity to apply to their own work. From learning acu-pressure to brainstorming tracks around their passions this will definitely one for the books.

I would also like to take a moment out to thank, all of our allies, friends, and monthly sustainers. We could not be lucky enough to be doing this work if it wasn’t for you!!! I’d like to remind you though, we are still in the process of trying to build our independent base through our friends of YWEP monthly sustainers program we are asking folks to give $5 dollars, or whatever you can afford a month, to help us keep afloat in these tough economic times, I’m sure your aware fundraising is hard, but with you behind us, we can continue to push forth, and reach hundreds of girls through our outreach. You have no idea how much this means to us. So in gratitude for signing up to be a monthly sustainer we will send you our new Christie Road Campaign poster, and some Friends of YWEP buttons!!! If you can give more than $5 a month we will send you our exclusive limited edition silk screen campaign poster, few are even aware of its existence!!

And Speaking of Allies, our Ally wall is complete!!! The purpose of this wall is to remind us in our everyday that we do not stand alone in this work. We are asking folks to mail us a postcard either of your org, or you individually with a few inspiring words, so we can remember all of you standing in solidarity with us. To acquire the address to send the postcards to or any further questions about regarding the wall, please email me at angel@youarepriceless.org.

Woo hoo! Check out our new online home!

Thanks to web designer Susannah Kim for her extra special work….!

Stay tuned for your favorite bloggers to be telling you whats up at YWEP and get ready to buy some new spectacular YWEP merchandise through our DONATE NOW button going live next week!