A group of Chicago legal experts has instituted a new diversion program (one run by a police department or some other office that is designed to enable alleged offenders of criminal law to avoid criminal charges and a record) aimed at helping one of the city's most marginalized populations. Transgender women charged in the city with sex work can now opt to complete a diversion program much like the one that has been offered to non-transgender women for years.

The program came about because, according to organizers, the number of arrests of transgender sex workers has increased over the past few years.

QUEST works like many other diversion programs. First-time offenders can opt to complete a one-day program in lieu of other penalties, both legal and financial. The program went into effect in early May and has already served at least 11 people.

"We would like to see young trans women have other options," said Bennett Lawson, a spokesperson for 44th Ward Ald. Tom Tunney's Office. Tunney's office collaborated with other QUEST organizers to create the program. Lawson said that Lake View has seen an increase in sex work and complaints in the neighborhood.

"If we could lower the amount of arrests, the amount of calls [about prostitution], that would benefit everyone," Lawson said.

According to a recent National Gay and Lesbian Task Force survey, unemployment rates for transgender people are twice the national average. In Chicago, 27 percent of respondents reported being fired for being transgender, a percentage point higher than the national average for transgender people.

The QUEST program is designed to address some of those challenges by offering participants GED classes, housing, computer training and free non-mandatory HIV and STI screenings.

The one-day session will be held at Christian Community Health Center, 9718 S. Halsted. At the end of it, participants will receive a certificate to bring back to the court, and their charges will be dismissed. The session costs $25, but according to QUEST organizers, fundraising efforts at Boystown clubs will cover the costs for those unable to pay.

QUEST founder and Assistant Public Defender Susan Matyus-Ehrlich told Windy City Times that she pursued creating the program because both non-transgender women and men have access to different diversion programs when charged with sex work or solicitation. She said that everyone involved thus far was happy.

In Chicago's transgender community, however, the announcement of QUEST was met with heavy skepticism. No transgender organization was included in the planning of the program, a fact confirmed by Matyus-Ehrlich who said she did not have experience working with transgender people. Transgender advocates have expressed concerns both publicly and privately that their expertise was circumvented.

The project was designed with input from Center on Halsted, which has offered consultation to Christian Community Health Center in creating the program. The Center has a transgender program, but it does not have known paid transgender staffers.

Owen Daniel-McCarter of the Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois (TJLP) said that there is a need for the diversion program, but that he worries it is of touch with the community that could benefit. "I like the idea of this happening from the community up," Daniel-McCarter said. "A lot of people are working on this stuff. I'm confused as to why our opinions are not enlisted."

The program has already made one small error: it refers to transgender people as "transgenders," a commonly used term that is generally deemed offensive and grammatically inaccurate.

Daniel-McCarter said that unless QUEST organizers consult directly with the community affected, the program could create a new set of problems for transgender people. He said that a diversion program for just transgender women could unnecessarily out many people as transgender, putting them at-risk of violence, discrimination and humiliation.

He also said the program does not address another problem facing transgender women in Lake View: Many transgender people have argued over the last two years that police arbitrarily arrest transgender women for being out after dark in Boystown and charge them with prostitution. Windy City Times was not able to confirm this.

Program materials for QUEST claim that it is the first of its kind in the nation. At least one similar diversion program does exist already, however. The Washington D.C. superior court offers and eight-week program to transgender women.

Matyus-Ehrlich said that she and other QUEST organizers are working now to include more LGBT organizations in the ongoing creation of QUEST.