Orange County Umbrella Collective

Every Saturday, Solace partners with Orange County's Needle Exchange program from 12 to 3 pm. Solace will be giving out Naloxone as well as Overdose Recognition and Response Training. The OCNEP is located at The Civic Center in Santa Ana. For more info (including a map!) check out http://buff.ly/21lzAp6 As always, Abeni will be there also with safer sex supplies, as well as Risk Reduction and Know-Your-Rights info for Sex Workers. Come by, we'd love to see you !

For all of our independent contractors out there, we thought this might have some valuable information. http://www.nytimes.com//tax-tips-for-those-who-make-money-

Lately, we've gotten a few inquiries from some of the adult performers we know about recent legislation outcomes, as well as rights and advice for new performers. The Adult Performer Advocacy Committee (APAC) is a great source of information and advice for adult performers, both seasoned and new. http://apac-usa.com/

Hey, OC people! If you're interested in coming onto the Abeni Team, we'd love to talk with you. We're currently talking with individuals who are interested in helping out on OC Needle Exchange days. Our next training day is 2pm on April 1st @ UCI ... Text, call, or email if you're interested and we'll get you hooked in :) http://www.abeni.org/

And we have Naloxone!

Hi to all of our OC Sex Workers and Adult Entertainers! As partners with OCNEP, we will be at the OC Needle Exchange every weekend from 12-3 at the Santa Ana Civic Center. For those interested, you can come by and (safely and anonymously) pick up your safe sex supplies, Sex Work Safety Tips, and Know-Your-Rights handouts. They're intended to make your work easier and safer, and are always on the house :) In addition to that, we'll have clean needles, resources, pregnancy tests, and a variety of hygiene supplies. All you have to do is come by ... We'd love to meet you and hear more about how we can better support you! For more information and directions, please visit OCNEP at www.ocnep.org

Today is Shine a Light on Slavery Day. It is often a day where our communities experience frustration at how limited and uninformed our awareness is, how reductive our trafficking narratives are, and how few resources exist for everyone on the SW spectrum. Part of the problem exists with how we frame Survivors and their experiences. As always, Yvonne Zimmerman does a great job of unpacking that. http://www.ourstoriesuntold.com/victim-narrative-sex-traff/

We're so excited to see the word getting out about OC's Needle Exchange :) http://app.criticalmention.com/app/

Heads up to our local SW working the Anaheim/Santa Ana area. Remember this picture, TRUST YOUR GUT, talk to one another and share information, work together, use the harm reduction and safety skills you already have, and take down license plate #s for one another. It's our deepest hope that you do not encounter this person, but if you do and are assaulted, please remember this:... It's not your fault. You are loved and supported. We're here for you. You can call us ... 714-770-9167. We'll come out to you, stay with you *if* you want to seek medical attention or report, support you through the process, and make sure you get the right resources and help. You can call us, even if you're not ready or don't want to do any of the above. You do NOT have to file a report in order to access victim's services. You don't even have to call us to do that. Our partners at CSP are safe, caring, and offer their services FREE of charge. You can contact them directly at (714) 834-4317 and find our more about services at: https://www.cspinc.org/Sexual%20Assault You can call us to share information so that we can pass it along and help others working those areas to stay safe. You can contact us for information on more ways to stay safe while you're working, Know-Your-Rights information, and Safer Sex supplies - All free of charge. http://www.latimes.com//la-me-ln-santa-ana-prostitute-sex-

Tech Security for Sex Work 101! Are you a sex worker concerned about your online safety and anonymity? Do you want to learn how to keep your information secure? Join Diya Kayyali as she leads SW through technology risk assessment, discuss various technology/data security concerns and solutions (including encryption, secure text messaging, and much more!) and highlight important resources for sex workers. http://app.webinarjam.net/register/23566/ec19556967

Why it's a good idea for Sex Workers to file their taxes ... http://titsandsass.com/

" ... it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that the huge under-representation of trans women in the sex worker activist community is because we see so little of our interests represented. This also visibly emerges in what sex worker-focused organizations and advocacy groups offer trans workers in particular ... There is very little in the way of resources, programs, or anything much at all dedicated to us that isn’t driven by those specific people, or by a handful of great trans activists who’ve dedicated years, largely without compensation, to ensuring that our voices get heard at least somewhere in sex work debates. I feel like we’re too often treated as a footnote even by sex worker peers who fundamentally mean well." http://titsandsass.com/the-tedium-of-trans-sex-work/