Salon Ramblings

It was summer 2013, I was discussing charity work with Sarah a client and she mentioned she had volunteered for Crisis at Christmas. That the experience was very humbling and she was looking forward to returning again, “they always need hairdressers” was her last smiling comment on the subject. After enjoying my Christmas’s at the Salvation Army in the past, I started to look into ‘Crisis at Christmas’….Crisis was founded in 1967, as an urgent response to the growing homelessness crisis.

In 1966, 12 million people watch drama Cathy Come Home on the BBC - the story of a young woman having her children ripped away from her after unemployment leads to homelessness. The public’s reaction is staggering – the public’s support lead to the creation of homelessness charity Crisis just months later.

In 1972 Crisis at Christmas is registered as a charity with trustees including Ronnie Corbett and Baroness Macleod. Open Christmas grows while volunteers lobby Government for greater protection for homeless people, building a movement. Campaigning leads to the 1977 Housing (Homeless Persons) Act, giving the first legal definition of homelessness. To this day there is no other country in the world where homeless people have a legal entitlement to settled housing enforced by the courts. Crucially though, it denies single homeless people the same protection as families under the law.

Supporting St James Primary School Target £30k, the ‘Decades of Hair’ event on 19th October 2012, was a massive success, with champagne flowing & delicious cupcakes enjoyed by all, even the bad weather failed to dampen the community’s spirits.

The salon displayed fantastic memorabilia from the 40’s to the 80’s with collages over the mirrors, while the children of St James Primary School created wonderful pictures of hairstyles to decorate the front window. The salon buzzed with clients all afternoon and into the evening, which was hosted by the 5 stylists looking stunning in their retro outfits & hairstyles.

Christmas in the salon is full of joy and excitement of the holidays to follow, a fabulous working environment that I am never tired of.

The build-up to a family Christmas can be very exciting but when you’re single, family have passed away or live abroad this time could be lonely for many. Your true friends share their family Christmas’s with you is a wonderful joy, however never the same, we all have our little quirky things at this time of year which makes us miss our own families even the more. This was the situation I was in, I found I made excuses not to be with others on Christmas day! Then a friend told me about the great work the Salvation Army has achieved at Christmas and asked if I would like to join her.