Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
Program turning confidantes into referral specialists
 |
| From left, Bonnie Rill, executive director of The Samaritans; Gary Barnes, executive director of MAPS Counseling Services; Robin Christopherson, executive director of Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention; Rob Maggart of Moda Suo Studio; and Deborah Coleman of Snippers. |
Styles of Caring
A Monadnock United Way Venture Grant program of:
MAPS Counseling Services (program fiscal agent)
19 Federal Street, Keene 03431; 355-2244
Executive director: Dr. Gary Barnes
www.mapsnh.org
Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention, Inc.
12 Court Street, Keene 03431; 352-3844
Executive director: Robin Christopherson
www.mcvprevention.org
24 hour Crisis Line: 888-511-MCVP (6287)
The Samaritans, Inc.
103 Roxbury Street, Suite 304, Keene 03431; 357-5510
Executive director: Bonnie Rill
www.samaritansnh.org
Hot Line: 357-5505
Making a Difference: Nonprofits and people in the Monadnock Region
Three nonprofit organizations have joined forces in an unusual collaboration that draws on the listening talents of hair stylists.
Last Monday, local salon professionals attended a meeting in Keene about Styles of Caring, a new program put together by MAPS Counseling Services, Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention and The Samaritans, the suicide prevention agency.
The initiative, which is underwritten by Monadnock United Way, offers a series of free workshops and one-on-one consultations to help hair stylists respond to serious personal problems that may be confided by their clients.
“People underestimate hair stylists and the roles they play in client relationships,” said Bonnie Rill, executive director of The Samaritans. “It’s an intimate relationship. People confide things to their hairdresser that they wouldn’t ever say to their friends.”
“A lot of stylists say, ‘I’ve been seeing these clients for years. They’re like part of my family,’ ” she said. “We’re trying to provide resources for that family.”
MAPS executive director Gary Barnes first proposed the idea to his counterparts Rill and Robin Christopherson of the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention last year. Over several months, the trio developed the program, based in part on a similar nationwide project that deals solely with domestic violence.
In April, the group presented its first workshop to nearly 50 students of Keene Beauty Academy. Participants learned to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence, sexual assault, potential suicide and depression, and to refer at-risk clients to appropriate local agencies. Beyond that, students received individual packets of educational materials as well as contact information for agencies throughout the community.
Other workshops are scheduled for the fall. Plans are now under way for brief visits to local salons for program introductions. Also in the works: business cards listing agency contact information for display at area salons.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said hair stylist Deborah Macri, owner and operator of Snippers salon in Keene. “It’s all about sharing resources and community building.”
“We’re one of the few businesses that are actually hands-on, besides massage therapists and doctors. That makes people open up to us,” she said. “I’ve had lots of clients who need help. I have clients who talk about everything from suicide to spousal abuse to depression.”
Helping stylists help clients is just one part of the goal. The program also includes free confidential consultations to hair stylists facing difficult client situations.
“Hair stylists have special relationships with people in our community,” said Barnes. “They develop trusting relationships over a long period of time. There’s a real bond between stylists and clients. People say that there are no secrets in Keene that stylists don’t know about.”
“A lot of people, including stylists, don’t want to get involved in something that they think may alienate their clients,” he said. “But Styles of Caring isn’t meant to encourage stylists to do anything that they’re not already doing. All we’re trying to do is provide resources for stylists so they don’t get stuck.”
Macri, who also serves on the leadership board of MAPS Counseling Services, contributed a stylist’s perspective to the program design. She encourages fellow salon professionals who also want to help their clients to contact any of the nonprofits for further details.
“We (hair stylists) already notice things,” she said. “We don’t talk to anyone else about it. We’re only passing around a business card (through Styles of Caring) with some referral numbers on it in case someone wants to get some help.”
“It’s totally between us and our client. This program equips us as hair stylists with the information and knowledge we need to help people find the help that they need,” she said.
~ Joan Geary
“Making a Difference,” a weekly feature, is a collaborative project of The Keene Sentinel and Giving Monadnock, which seeks to raise public awareness of the role of nonprofit agencies in the Monadnock Region. For more information, e-mail info@givingmonadnock.org or call 357-7171.
Last Monday, local salon professionals attended a meeting in Keene about Styles of Caring, a new program put together by MAPS Counseling Services, Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention and The Samaritans, the suicide prevention agency.
The initiative, which is underwritten by Monadnock United Way, offers a series of free workshops and one-on-one consultations to help hair stylists respond to serious personal problems that may be confided by their clients.
“People underestimate hair stylists and the roles they play in client relationships,” said Bonnie Rill, executive director of The Samaritans. “It’s an intimate relationship. People confide things to their hairdresser that they wouldn’t ever say to their friends.”
“A lot of stylists say, ‘I’ve been seeing these clients for years. They’re like part of my family,’ ” she said. “We’re trying to provide resources for that family.”
MAPS executive director Gary Barnes first proposed the idea to his counterparts Rill and Robin Christopherson of the Monadnock Center for Violence Prevention last year. Over several months, the trio developed the program, based in part on a similar nationwide project that deals solely with domestic violence.
In April, the group presented its first workshop to nearly 50 students of Keene Beauty Academy. Participants learned to recognize the warning signs of domestic violence, sexual assault, potential suicide and depression, and to refer at-risk clients to appropriate local agencies. Beyond that, students received individual packets of educational materials as well as contact information for agencies throughout the community.
Other workshops are scheduled for the fall. Plans are now under way for brief visits to local salons for program introductions. Also in the works: business cards listing agency contact information for display at area salons.
“I think it’s wonderful,” said hair stylist Deborah Macri, owner and operator of Snippers salon in Keene. “It’s all about sharing resources and community building.”
“We’re one of the few businesses that are actually hands-on, besides massage therapists and doctors. That makes people open up to us,” she said. “I’ve had lots of clients who need help. I have clients who talk about everything from suicide to spousal abuse to depression.”
Helping stylists help clients is just one part of the goal. The program also includes free confidential consultations to hair stylists facing difficult client situations.
“Hair stylists have special relationships with people in our community,” said Barnes. “They develop trusting relationships over a long period of time. There’s a real bond between stylists and clients. People say that there are no secrets in Keene that stylists don’t know about.”
“A lot of people, including stylists, don’t want to get involved in something that they think may alienate their clients,” he said. “But Styles of Caring isn’t meant to encourage stylists to do anything that they’re not already doing. All we’re trying to do is provide resources for stylists so they don’t get stuck.”
Macri, who also serves on the leadership board of MAPS Counseling Services, contributed a stylist’s perspective to the program design. She encourages fellow salon professionals who also want to help their clients to contact any of the nonprofits for further details.
“We (hair stylists) already notice things,” she said. “We don’t talk to anyone else about it. We’re only passing around a business card (through Styles of Caring) with some referral numbers on it in case someone wants to get some help.”
“It’s totally between us and our client. This program equips us as hair stylists with the information and knowledge we need to help people find the help that they need,” she said.
~ Joan Geary
“Making a Difference,” a weekly feature, is a collaborative project of The Keene Sentinel and Giving Monadnock, which seeks to raise public awareness of the role of nonprofit agencies in the Monadnock Region. For more information, e-mail info@givingmonadnock.org or call 357-7171.
Share this Article
Article Rating
Reader Comments
The following are comments from the readers. In no way do they represent the view of sentinelsource.com.
