What we do
Streetwork
Our street work teams visit women working in prostitution. These moments of contact give us insight into the women’s current situation. With each women we meet we share presents; hygiene articles, food, Migros-vouchers, condoms and contact addresses, and a message of hope and the possibility of transformation, shared through our own life stories.
Our offices on Langstrasse offer a wonderful place of rest for women seeking help. Over coffee and tea we share life together, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing. It is here that they are reminded of their buried dreams, and most importantly that it is possible to build trusting relationships.
Our beautiful clothing boutique, with beautiful (secondhand) clothes of quality, bags, shoes, decorative items, cosmetics and much more, dress many women every day for free.
Would you also like to make someone happy and donate your clothes?
Changing lives
The social mobility of women wanting to leave prostitution is severely limited. In order for them to have equal opportunities, a cycle of dependency and lack of prospects must be broken.
German is key if work integration is to succeed. Therefore, German lessons are offered weekly in our office. However, a patchy CV and the stigmatisation of women who have worked as prostitutes, unfortunately take away almost all chances of accessing the labour market.
For this reason, to provide the women with alternative work, Heartwings started a non-profit cleaning company in spring 2021. We have already gained have numerous private clients who’s flats are cleaned for 30 CHF/hour. All the money goes directly towards the funding the former prostitutes who clean the flats. To begin the women are trained by a cleaning specialist and are thereafter accompanied to every work assignment. Through the work experience, their inclusion process is fostered and self-efficacy and self-esteem are increased.
Heartwings also rent flats to provide the women with a stable and safe place to live and most importantly a legal tenancy agreement. A tenancy and work contract also provides the basis for an application for a residence permit and social security.
The renowned company RFM offers the prospective cleaning specialists a recognised ISO certified training including a diploma. After which, the women have the chance of participating in our prestigious internship and subsequently the possibility of permanent employment.
Since, every life and curriculum vitae is unique, individual solutions are needed for each and every woman, accordingly we work in a flexible, low-threshold and solution-oriented way.
I donate so that a woman can work!
Speak Up
The conditions behind facades of the red-light district are rarely spoken about openly. As a society, we often believe in a glossed-over image of prostitution, a façade behind which no one has hardly ever really seen.
Heartwings relentlessly exposes that that goes on in our country in the area of prostitution, pornography, human trafficking, the loverboy method and much more. The effects of which affect us all and profoundly shape our image of sexuality and private behaviour. Our listeners are encouraged to question previous attitudes.
We talk openly without any taboos, about our own life stories which are marked by abuse, lack of identity, bulimia pornography, and our process of change.
We are committed to educating society. In this sense we speak everywhere we are invited, e.g. school classes, conformation classes, churches (all denominations), associations, companies, political events and much more.
We deliberately give our talks free of charge. Our top priority is to educate the general public. Donations are gratefully received.
Enable others
We empower and train teams and organisations at home and abroad so that change is possible worldwide. We would like to introduce you to two projects abroad that have been significantly shaped by Heartwings.
About us
Employee
Peter
Dorothée
Jael
Johanna
Ella
Lydia
Jenny
