The Mobile Access Project Van kept Tracey Smith safe on nights she walked hooker strolls in the Downtown Eastside.
"They care that we're OK, that we have what we need and that we're safe," Smith, a prostitute since age 14, said of the service, which sees sex-trade workers provided with condoms, clean needles and exit resources.
Tracey's not alone in her experience. A UBC survey of more than 100 sex-trade workers who used the MAP van's services in January 2006 overwhelmingly said they felt safe with the van around.
"This study confirms what we've known all along - that this service was essential for the health and safety of women who are still vulnerable to unspeakable violence," said study co-author and WISH Drop-In Centre Society director Kate Gibson.
The van was cut by the province June 12, but spending was reinstated Sept. 7.
