TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Getting a haircut is a small change that can make you feel like a whole new person.
One south side woman, Estella Avila, is offering free haircuts to shelter clients at the Salvation Army Hospitality House, helping them transform their look without breaking the bank.
“I’m just happy that I’m able to provide a service to people, that people enjoy getting their haircuts," said Avila.
Working over 40 hours a week, Avila—a hairdresser for over 40 years—is no stranger to involving herself with different organizations in Tucson.
And the brand new “Hospitality House Haircuts” at the Salvation Army program gives her a permanent spot to utilize her skills.
“Whenever I’m off I try to do some volunteer work," said Avila. "I serve on some boards as well for the Southern Arizona Network for Down Syndrome. I serve on that board, and I serve for the Tucson Challenger Little League which is a special needs baseball league. I’m very busy out in the community, I love to give back.”
One shelter client, Kimberly Buckingham, has been cutting and coloring her own hair for the last 13 years, but today she felt comfortable enough to let someone else do it.
She was one of the 25 clients who signed up.
“She made me feel 100% comfortable, she listened to what I had to say and I think it came out really really nice," Buckingham said.
I asked Captain Christopher Kim, The Salvation Army Tucson area coordinator, about the future of this program and he says they want to keep building on this idea of having self-care services available at the shelter.
“Since Estella is only available certain days maybe we can get, you know, more people, more volunteers to do it different days of the week," said Kim. "So, we can basically have like a barbershop or a hair salon here ongoing for our clients that are always on the way in and out.”
If you want to make a difference in your community, The Salvation Army Hospitality House is looking for more volunteers just like Estella who offer these types of services for their shelter clients.
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