Thank you for supporting the Ocean State Ass Mutual Aid Fund! 100% of donations will go directly to supporting local sex workers as we continue to navigate the COVID-19 pandemic. The fund was created as a resource for in person sex workers in Rhode Island suffering a financial loss due to the pandemic. Mutual Aid is an organizing ideology focused on the voluntary exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit and is particularly significant for sex workers due to the ways criminalization acts to harm and isolate sex workers from resources both financial and otherwise. The pandemic has been especially hard on sex workers as we face the false choice of either working and risking our health or stopping work and not being able to support ourselves. This fund is to provide financial support and resources to sex workers statewide with priority for BIPOC sex workers, trans sex workers, and sex workers who have been impacted the most by the pandemic due to other factors such as housing instability, chronic disease, and xenophobia.
Since it’s initial creation in March 2020, OSA has distributed over $20,000 to over 45 sex workers living in Rhode Island. OSA hopes to continue expanding as a resource for sex workers in need of support accessing basic needs as well as a community network for support and resilience. This fund is by and for sex workers working to build a stronger community in Rhode Island.