A program aimed at helping people exit the sex trade or get out of sexually exploitive situations is in danger of closing its doors, and a local fundraising group has started an imitative to try to save it.

The Blue Door Program is set to close at the end of the month if funding for it cannot be found. It helps people gain access to education, housing and mental health supports.

Rachel Barnes, co-chair of the group Fundraising for Women recently started an online petition, urging the provincial government to fund the program. The petition has received more than 10,000 signatures so far.

She calls exiting the sex trade a “women’s issue,” noting that 95 per cent of trafficking victims are women and girls. She says Blue Door is the only exit program in the province, and she questions where people will go if they shut their doors.

The province has not yet responded to the issue.