The Autonomy Project Is fighting for queer Ohio sex workers

What began as a dream shared by ‘five passionate fems and thems’ determined to create something lasting for the queer community in Columbus has since grown into a volunteer-powered force for advocacy and mutual aid—one determined to stand firm against the mounting wave of anti-LGBTQ+ legislation sweeping through Ohio.

The Autonomy Project, which owns and operates out of a former library branch now called Wicked Eden is a 501(c)(3) public charity and organization that provides resources, education, advocacy, and community connection for sex workers, LGBTQ+ individuals, BIPOC and other marginalized communities.

“I stumbled across this old library and I thought… this might be it,” says Jamie Lombardi, founder & executive director of The Autonomy Project. “When this started to look like it was going to be an option, I … fought tooth-and-nail to get qualified for an SBA 504 loan and I started to have this strange sense that there is so much more that we could do with this.”

The nonprofit has hosted over 55 events in just a year and a half, with more than 160 volunteers now involved – and remarkably, has accomplished this without grants or corporate sponsorships, relying instead on community donations and grassroots support.

“We are entirely volunteer-based,” says Lombardi, herself a sex worker and a fan of Burning Man. “Our whole little team, our original founders, are all Burners, right? I came back from Burning Man and was like, ‘Did you know they build these amazing big things and nobody gets paid? What if we tried that here?’”

The result is a space where creative expression, community support and mutual resistance intersect. Events range from support groups to dance parties and creative workshops, with past offerings including “Kink for the Curious,” a leather lifestyle educational series in collaboration with Columbus Leather Collective, as well as drag shows, local artisan markets, speed dating and friending events and more — all driven by the passions of the community itself.

“Everything has a ‘for us by us’ kind of feeling because there’s no programming director being like, ‘what do the poor marginalized queers need out here?’” says Lombardi. “It’s more like, well, what do we actually want? What do we need?”

The nonprofit began 2025 by hosting two major events: the State of the Drag Union Townhall, held on January 15, and the Wolf Moon Ball, planned for January 25.

The townhall brought together a panel of leaders from the drag and burlesque community, along with venue managers, local performers, and community members to discuss the implications of HB 245, Ohio’s proposed “drag ban bill.”

“We really wanted to open the floor to what our community wanted,” says Lombardi. “Someone from our local drag community came forward and said, ‘Are you keeping an eye on this?’ I was like, yeah, and if it passes, we need to consider what this means.”

With a major turnout (standing room only), participants asked questions and discussed the impacts of mental health to personal safety to the need for a legal defense fund. Venue owners and performers agreed to host benefit shows and take larger roles in this process, and the Autonomy Project pledged to assist in the creation of a Drag Union fund.

Closing out January, The Wolf Moon Ball was a glamorous winter gala benefiting The Autonomy Project with an unapologetically queer twist. “Our co-founder Jackie [Appel] was like, ‘I want a big, glamorous, ridiculous event where people get to wear the kind of clothes they don’t normally get to wear – but deep inside, it has this feeling of doing something bigger,’” says Lombardi.

The ball featured a grilled-cheese truck, customizable drinks with both alcoholic and cannabis-infused options and an eclectic lineup of performers, from belly dancers to magicians.

“When the world feels like it’s closing in on you, the first thing to go is your creativity,” says Lombardi. “But that’s when you need it most because it’s so defiant.”

Behind the glitter and gatherings, the group’s deeper mission is to be vigilant against legislative threats like HB 245 and HB 276, which continue to place already vulnerable communities at greater risk, by continuing to host events that allow community members to remain informed while building community.

“I am a 20-year veteran sex worker and being a sex worker is always a political thing,” says Lombardi. “I had always wanted to be able to have my own space and create a safe space for folks who are both in my industry, and obviously the big overlap between queer folks and sex workers is very, very high.”

HB 276, which passed the Ohio House with minimal resistance, bans individuals from receiving money if they know it was earned from sex work. HB 276’s vague language has sparked national criticism for criminalizing not just sex workers, but also those receiving support from them, including family members, healthcare providers and even landlords.

For Lombardi, the bill echoes broader patterns of systemic discrimination that disproportionately impact queer and trans individuals engaged in sex work. The 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey showed that nearly half (45%) of those who have done income-based sex work were living in poverty, and that Black transgender women made up nearly two-thirds (65%) of those engaged in sex work for income.

“Not everyone is going to be able to go out and protest and wear riot gear and, you know, ‘take it on the chin’ kind of stuff,” says Lombardi. “But that doesn’t mean that those people’s efforts aren’t also still valuable and that we shouldn’t also be protecting those people in the same way that we’re fighting.”

With more than 1,600 individuals in their database and a thriving volunteer base, the nonprofit is proving what collective action can achieve – and encourages anyone intrigued by their mission to answer the call and join in with the community as they see fit, in person or remotely.

“We’re able to teach people how to create safer spaces for themselves,” says Jamie Lombardi. “It’s one thing to have power, it’s another thing to believe you have power.” 🔥