Red Umbrella Project

The Red Umbrella Project (RedUP) is a small peer-led organization based in Brooklyn, New York, which amplifies the voices of people in the sex trades to take greater control of their lives and livelihoods through sustained and structured peer-mentoring initiatives, multimedia storytelling platforms, and public advocacy skills development programs. We strive to build the capacities of people in the sex trades people both as individuals and as a community, so that we can engage in debates about issues that affect us and make positive changes both on personal and political levels. Because we are a vulnerable population and because of the stigma, discrimination, and violence our community faces there are major barriers to our participation in civic and political life. We create programming that supports the development of skills, confidence, and political analysis among our members so that they can better navigate social and economic justice issues, and if they chose, exit the sex industry and be confident in their ability to find other employment. About 80% of our program participants self-identify as LGBTQ and many are low-income women of color who live in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx.