Arpi Hakobyan (not her real name), a former sex worker, lost her income after the COVID-19 pandemic hit Armenia. And then her parents threw her out of their home and took her passport. She had no place to go and no one to ask for help, until a friend advised her to contact the New Generation nongovernmental organization.

Opened by the New Generation in June 2020 in the centre of Yerevan, the capital of Armenia, the Safe Space occupies a three-storey building that gives people living with HIV, members of key populations and women who have suffered from domestic violence a safe refuge.

“When the COVID-19 pandemic began, we started receiving calls from people who, because of their belonging to key populations or because they were HIV-positive, were discriminated against, found themselves without work, without support, sometimes without a home,” said Sergey Gabrielian, the head of the organization. “It is widely believed in our society that it is these groups that spread not only HIV but also COVID-19, which is why they are expelled from work or from society. These people have nowhere to get help from—they are not on any lists of recipients of government social assistance programmes.”

The Safe Space gave Ms Hakobyan a place in the shelter. The New Generation’s lawyer and psychologist reached out to her, helped to replace her documents and found her a job. Read more via UNAIDS