PEERS UPDATE
PEERS Victoria is committed to continuing its peer support, hot lunches, outreach, job training, and wellness workshops. New Executive Director Marion Little’s background in non-profit leadership, abuse prevention, and dispute resolution will be put to the test, but she is up for the challenge. "Every human being has the right to be treated with dignity, to be protected from physical harm or exploitation and to have accessible education resources,” she says. “The whole community benefits in many ways when our most vulnerable members are well supported."
We’re delighted to have a number of former volunteers returning to PEERS, bringing their talents to bear on all kinds of fronts. We couldn’t do it without the help of our many donors, funders and volunteers, whose efforts keep PEERS doors open and programs running for some of the region’s most marginalized and stigmatized citizens.
We’re hoping to reinstate weekly “Beauty Days” at PEERS, and are seeking volunteer hairdressers, manicurists, masseuses, or donations of new beauty products. If you can help, please contact our front desk at info@peers.bc.ca.
A major PEERS contract—the provincially funded Elements employment-readiness program—will be changing this spring. We’re staying alert as to how that will play out for our organization and our participants.
If you’ve got time, goods, skills or funds you’d like to donate, please contact us for more information on how you can help. Or click on “Donate Today”. Thanks for your support!
WHO WE ARE...
PEERS is a non-profit society established by former sex workers and community supporters and is dedicated to the empowerment, education and support of sex workers, by working to improve their safety and working conditions, assisting those who desire to leave the sex industry, increasing public understanding and awareness of these issues, and promoting the experiential voice.
Marion Little, Executive Director
Marion Little, BA Linguistics, MA Dispute Resolution, is the Executive Director for PEERS Victoria, a resource centre and street outreach program for sex workers. Marion also administers the Sexual Misconduct Policy and prevention education efforts for 48 Anglican Churches across Vancouver Island. She is a sessional instructor teaching "Collaborative Decision-Making, Leadership, & Public Policy" for the MA Dispute Resolution program at the University of Victoria, School of Public Administration. Previously, Marion served as the Executive Director for Threshold Housing Society, providing semi-independent housing to homeless youth. She is a Past-President of the BC Network for Compassionate Communication and a founding member of the Vancouver Island Criminal Justice Association (affiliated with the Canadian Criminal Justice Association).
Marion’s academic research projects focus on language-use and empathy development during conflict. Her Master's thesis “Total Honesty/Total Heart: Fostering conflict resolution skills and empathy development” describes and evaluates a Nonviolent Communication training program for teen mothers who have experienced poverty, marginalization, and domestic violence.
PEERS Core Values
PEERS services are designed, developed and implemented by sex workers, in collaboration with non-sex workers who are committed to PEERS core values. The services are based on the needs of sex workers and on a harm-reduction approach driven by each individual’s needs.