Members of the Burnaby Task Force to End Homelessness are looking for hairstylists to volunteer at the annual Connect event during Homelessness Action Week.
This is the 13th time the event will be organized and it’s set to take place Oct. 11 at Royal Oak Ministry Centre. This year, organizer Carol-Ann Flanagan, however, is short on people to cut and style hair for the up to 200 clients expected. The hair stylist station is always the most popular, Flanagan explained.
“It’s one of the stations that can change a person’s life,” she said. After they are all done up with their hair as well as makeup, a photographer takes their photo. “It does something for their soul.”
Not only will their clients get new hair styles, they will be able to get their blood pressure checked and get the flu shot from local nurses, have their teeth checked by a dentist and their eyes examined by an optometrist. There will be a pancake breakfast served by the Lions and free clothing will be given away. Organizers are also busy collecting donations from businesses to give away as draws throughout the day.
Because the hair station is so popular, Flanagan said she hopes she gets many volunteers, either professionals or students, even if they can only come for a limited time.
“If I had 10 hairdressers, that would be great,” Flanagan said. “I’m really hoping people will be able to donate a few hours.”
Flanagan said she’s so impressed by people who show kindness to the less fortunate, like a BC Hydro employee who recently collected from her colleagues a pile of toiletries as well as steel-toed boots to donate to those less fortunate.
During the 2017 homeless count, the task force estimated there were between 250 and 300 homeless people in Burnaby. Of the 69 people they spoke to on the count night, 49 were sleeping in the street or couch surfing. Thirty-two per cent of the Burnaby homeless population is 55 or older.
"These are the stats nobody wants to see or hear," Flanagan said.
Homelessness Action Week is Oct. 7 to 13. Turkey dinner will be served on two occasions, on Sunday, Oct. 7 at the Salvation Army, 6125 Nelson Ave. at 5 p.m., and on Monday, Oct. 8 at Southside Community Church, 7135 Walker Ave. at 5 p.m. The Connect event on Oct. 11 is at Royal Oak Ministry Centre, 7175 Royal Oak.
Hair stylists interested in volunteering at the Connect event can contact [email protected] or 604-200-0712.
The Burnaby Task Force to End Homelessness is under the umbrella or the Society to End Homelessness in Burnaby. For more information on Burnaby’s Homelessness Action Week and the organization, click here.
