It presents itself as a beauty salon that is quite common, with pale pink and wood, soothing and enveloping colors and materials, a space equipped with a chair, a mirror, and a basin for washing hair, as well as a shower area.
However, this salon is not located on a regular shopping street but in a repurposed delivery truck, which parks in front of day shelters that receive homeless women or long-term accommodations for single-parent families.
Some clients of this salon have been living on the streets for 5, 10, or even 15 years, managing as best they can on a daily basis. They are mothers with children who have fled violent homes, migrants, or unaccompanied minors who have arrived alone in France, victims of violence during their migration journey.
On board the Camping-Care, socio-estheticians and socio-hairdressers, who are professionals trained to care for vulnerable individuals - found in oncology or palliative care services, for example - provide one-hour treatments to this audience.
"There is listening, touch, and the socio-estheticians and socio-hairdressers adapt to each person who comes for care,” emphasizes Sybil Gerbaud. “They are very gentle and attentive. They do a bit of psychology; there is a lot of exchange. It’s a space to verbalize certain things that these women don’t have the opportunity to do elsewhere.”
Last year, 850 women received individual care, averaging between 5 and 6 per day, with some returning multiple times, which is encouraging for the association as they see these women gradually getting back on their feet through the sessions.
“The treatments have really had an impact on triggering actions, getting back into processes, making health appointments, accessing housing or employment. We see relationships forming with other people. It has a very positive aspect, a remobilizing effect,” enthuses the president of Camping-Care.
Beyond breaking social isolation, this moment allows these women to have discussions, to be listened to, and to be valued. “We don’t focus so much on the notion of beauty as on the idea of offering a caring gaze, a listening ear to women who have had very broken life paths,” concludes Sybil Gerbaud.
