Kwanzaa's Northside Women's Space

Northside Women’s Space is a drop-in space providing women and teens who trade sex, or who are “in prostitution,” a safe and holistic space based on the values of empowerment, respect, dignity, integrity, community and hope. This space, and the emerging programs, were birthed out of researched conduced in 2007 by Dr. Lauren Martin and funded by the Otto Bremer Foundation. This program and space is designed for short-term engagement that will lead to and solidify long-term inter-generational impact. The cycles of poverty and prostitution are inter-generational; lasting change requires that we address the immediate concerns associated with those ‘in prostitution’ and implement a long term and comprehensive strategy that will change longer-term cycles and destructive patterns of behavior.

NWS Need:
Women caught in the cycle of prostitution are among of the most vulnerable members of our community. According to research conducted by Dr. Martin the population of people trading sex in north Minneapolis is 87% female, 90% unemployed, and 82% African-American. They have experienced a startlingly high rate of multiple traumatic events (80%), such as child abuse, rape, domestic abuse and more. Most are precariously housed or homeless and less than half completed high school. When asked about trading sex, about half first traded sex before the age of 18, at least 33% knew a close family member who also was involved in prostitution. Most had children (75%) and said they traded sex to “make ends meet.” One woman who was interviewed said: “I don’t want to do this. I have kids, no job, no pampers and the ’frigerator is empty. What else am I supposed to do?” Women who trade sex have multiple unmet needs, yet they are completely disconnected from systems of care in our society, networks of support, and their own self-worth as human beings.

NWS Concept and Development:
The concept and original plans for the NWS were developed through a community based planning and implementation process led by Lauren Martin (Ph.D.) that incorporated multiple perspectives including: women who have traded sex, advocates, service providers, academics, residents, businesses and law enforcement. Driven by the sobering research gathered and informal discussions, in 2007 this group of diverse stakeholders embarked on a planning process to develop the drop-in space concept. The stakeholders met monthly for over a year and developed a mission, goals, activities, and various protocols for operation. This group has expanded and continues to meet monthly. A complete policy and operations manual is available.

NWS Evaluation:
We value transparency, continuous quality improvement, participant input into the space, and best practices. The space operates with a holistic and inclusive understanding of evaluation that measures progress on key indicators and also documents people’s feelings and experiences. Evaluation with this population can be difficult. There is a heightened need for anonymity and confidentiality that trumps any evaluation need. Likewise trust is hard to build and critical to maintain. We know from experience that too many questions and too much “measurement” is not warm and welcoming. Given these barriers we have developed an evaluation plan that will help us measure success in ways that are participatory and supportive. Dr. Lauren Martin will lead the research and evaluation efforts. She has a great deal of experience in creating research in which participants feel valued and in control. All participants in the space will be told that their input is important, that they are experts and that the space is for them and their needs.

Oversight of the evaluation work will be done by Dr. Martin. We will also utilize the expertise of the advisory panel and of all staff, and specifically the outreach and connection specialists and Rev. Alika Galloway, who are also trained and experienced in working with this population. Evaluation efforts pertinent to each job are detailed in our operation manual.

Learn more by visiting Kwanzaa's Northside Women's Space website at northsidewomen.org.

Dear Friends of Northside Women’s Space,
 
Thank you for your prayers over the past several weeks. As you already may know, the tornado that ravaged the Northside of Minneapolis also damaged our building. In addition, Kwanzaa members have been hit hard, and the neighborhoods are devastated.
 
This reality has presented new challenges and new opportunities for us. Our role, for the near term, is focused on helping ourselves and our Northside neighbors to heal. Acting as an agent of healing is fully consistent with our mission…for the women who trade sex, for their families, for their neighbors.
 
This means that, for the next month or so, we will focus on fixing the tornado damage and helping the community get back on its feet. We will open our doors as soon as we can, because NWS is needed now and will be needed even more in the months and years to come as the economic effects of the tornado combine with existing economic realities of the Northside.
 
As a member of this community, Northside Women’s Space feels called to briefly interrupt our stated plan and join our neighbors and our government workers to participate in relief efforts. We hope you will understand the reasons for this slight delay in our timeline, and we ask for your continued compassion and support as we move ahead – at a slightly different pace than we had hoped – but move ahead nonetheless.
 
Peace,

Pastor Alika Galloway