As Cooperative Principle #7 states, "cooperatives work for the sustainable development of communities through policies and programs accepted by the members." This is why we are celebrating our anniversary by hosting donation drives throughout the month of March.
Hand selected by Mariposa staff, each organization is important to the progression of our community. Donate at the register the next time you shop and check back each week to find more information about each organization.
Project Safe
March 8 - March 14
Total Donated: $1,752
Established in Philadelphia in 2004, Project SAFE is an all-volunteer grassroots organization providing advocacy and support for women working in street economies. SAFE’s mission is to promote human rights-based public health among women working in the sex and drug trades on the street in Philadelphia*. SAFE is an organization dedicated to ensuring the health, safety and survival of women on the street by providing advocacy, education and support using a harm reduction model. SAFE seeks to reduce the spread of HIV, hepatitis C and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among working women, promote health and safety by empowering women with relevant information and resources, and connect women to programs and services which are appropriate to their needs and interests.
The primary problem that SAFE seeks to ameliorate is the fact that women who work in street economies have many unmet medical and social service needs. Although there are many groups and organizations in Philadelphia that provide the very services women say they want, these organizations are often unknown to and/or inept at providing services to SAFE’s constituents. This is not a new problem. An overwhelming need for accessible and non-judgmental services for the women who are the most criminalized, stigmatized and ostracized in our city has existed for far too long. The population that we work with and for is largely at an economic, educational and social disadvantage. Barriers such as illiteracy, lack of health insurance, legal problems (such as bench warrants), mental illness, mistrust of authority figures and service providers, and chaotic drug use are all factors which prevent women from accessing services to meet their basic needs. SAFE acts as a supportive and educational resource for these women to begin closing the gap.