“The primary goal of the ADSF is to meet women in very difficult situations where they are,” explains Stefania Parigi. “And we also have a reception that allows these women to receive care, particularly from midwives, gynecologists, doctors, nurses...”. Meetings also take place with specialized associations, particularly in the woods of Vincennes and Boulogne, within the sex work community.
“The longer you live on the streets, the more disconnected you become from your body,” explains Stefania Parigi. “So, reconnecting with this body means revealing pains that can sometimes be immense, both psychological and physical. Ignoring your body when you have been too damaged is a matter of safety and protection.”
Thus, the work of ADSF will be to bring these women back to care. One of the association's specificities is the "reference" women, volunteers who are women from the streets or with a migratory background, who have been identified and approached by the teams because in their home countries, they were midwives, nursing assistants, or nurses. They also speak dialects that facilitate contact with other women.
The association therefore reaches out to the most vulnerable through foot patrols, but also aboard the Frottis truck, which is also requested by certain municipalities lacking healthcare professionals or to reach women who do not move, for example, at the foot of buildings in priority neighborhoods.
"Gynecological care is difficult to access, even for the general public,” explains Stefania Parigi. "When you live in a small village in the depths of Dordogne or Creuse, getting an appointment with a gynecologist can be difficult. So you can imagine that when you are very socially isolated, it is even more complicated. Therefore, we also have the possibility to reach women who are not on the streets but also do not have access to care for many other reasons.”
Once contact is established, an initial screening phase is conducted. “Many of these women have sometimes never seen a gynecologist at 7 or 8 months pregnant, for example. Or we conduct breast cancer or general cancer screenings.” Those in good health still need to see a dentist or a general practitioner.
The goal is very clear for ADSF: “We are not a healthcare team, nor a hospital. We are a place for screening and orientation. It is about being able, with a multidisciplinary team, in complete kindness with our reference women, to identify the most urgent issues to address, with a whole process of orientation towards a hospital, a healthcare access point, a city doctor, a pharmacist, or a laboratory.”
ADSF also offers support groups, menopause workshops, maternity sessions with midwives and psychologists, parenting classes, baby massage, parent cafés, workshops around dance and art therapy, salsa therapy, sophrology, as well as legal assistance sessions.
The association also works hand in hand with businesses and healthcare professionals to advocate for these issues. "We would like ADSF to be a place for internships in the context of medical residencies or police/justice internships, to change the perception of these women,” explains Stefania Parigi. "The fact of working with healthcare providers greatly helps to ease communication around these topics. And ultimately, the fact that these women are undocumented is not that serious. What comes across to our partners is the necessity to improve the health status of these women.”
