Mission Statement: Aileen’s exists to enhance well-being and self-determination of women and others who engage in the sex trades in south King County, Washington and surrounding areas.
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Aileen’s is a peer-centered organizing and hospitality space located in Federal Way for women working along the Pac Hwy. This is the area south of Seattle stretching from around SEATAC airport to the south end of King County that is home to many women who trade sex and where Gary Ridgeway, a.k.a. Green River Killer, sought his victims.
We are fed up with the lack of services and resources for empowerment in south King County. Pressing concerns include homelessness, legal issues, CPS involvement, substance use problems, domestic violence, police harassment and brutality, sexual assault and harassment, racism, transphobia, among others.
Women along the Pac Hwy need a safe place to get off the street, even for temporarily, a place to get and give support without being hated or judged, a place to share safety information like the bad date line and receive life saving harm reduction tools.
Aileen’s opened its door in April 2019 and has provided hospitality space, non-judgmental and accepting community, peer support, resources, harm reduction advocacy, etc. In October 2019 we were awarded a King County grant which allowed us to start peer leadership program–the combination of trainings, internship opportunities, and intensive case management to remove barriers to each woman’s participation.
Aileen’s is by and for women in the sex trade, women who are homeless or unstably housed, women doing survival sex, coming out of prison, having their kids taken by CPS, struggling to make ends meet, as well as women with former lived experience, and sex workers from all walks of life. We welcome volunteers/allies willing to complete our training.
Aileen’s is supported by the Coalition for Rights & Safety for People in the Sex Trade and other community groups.
