Coming to the International AIDS Conference? Join OPA at the HIPS party!

For those of you coming to DC next week for the International AIDS Conference, OPA affiliates Matt Curtis and Phillip Coffin invite you to turn out with us to support one of our favorite sex worker health and rights organizations, HIPS. The event is a fundraiser and art show at the Iron Horse Tap Room on Tuesday July 24, from 6-9 pm and modestly priced at $20. Get your tickets here.


More on HIPS below the fold.

HIPS (Helping Individual Prostitutes Survive) was founded in 1993 by a coalition of service providers, advocates, and law enforcement officials as an outreach and referral service. HIPS mission is to assist female, male, and transgender individuals engaging in sex work in Washington, DC in leading healthy lives.  Utilizing a harm reduction model, HIPS’ programs strive to address the impact that HIV/AIDS, sexually transmitted infections, discrimination, poverty, violence and drug use have on the lives of individuals engaging in sex work.  HIPS is a nationally recognized program that meets the needs sex workers and assists them in their efforts to eliminate the transmission of HIV, increase sexual health, and reduce violence and harm associated with sex work and drug use. HIPS programs serve an estimated 2,000  sex workers a year on the streets and in our drop-in center, providing a full spectrum of programs to address basic & immediate needs, long-term goal setting and life skills development.

Can't come to the fundraiser? HIPS has extremely cool tshirts, bags and mugs. Buy lots of them here.