On Friday 21st of June, Lisa Curry MBE OAM became the inaugural ambassador for Hairdressers with Hearts (HWH).
Lisa Curry and her brand Happy Healthy You have come on board to lend her voice and public profile to this terrific cause.
Earlier this year on the 8th of March, Lisa attended the local Bribie Island RSL International Women’s Day Lunch.
“When I was here speaking at the luncheon, Sonia mentioned that they couldn’t finish their website because they didn’t have the funding to finish the website. So I thought it was the least that we could do. So Happy Healthy You, which is our company, just donated the rest of the money for them so they could finish their website and get it up and running, because it’s such a great initiative and unfortunately it [domestic violence] affects probably someone you know,y nearly one woman a week dies from domestic violence. And not to mention all the women who are left scarred by it as well, and men it’s not just women it’s women and men,” Lisa said.
The former Olympian truly believes in helping empower women.
She said “We [Happy Healthy You] work very hard on empowering women in all parts of their lives… when people take our product, one of the first things that they feel from it is that they feel a sense of calm. And sometimes having a sense of calm instead of feeling reactive is important as well. So we work very hard on educating and informing women about how to feel good about themselves and therefore that spreads throughout the family as well, the family unit.”
And having experienced family domestic violence in the past the cause of HWH really spoke to Lisa.
“The fact that there’s one every week [woman] that’s dying at the hands of someone, and often someone that they know, it’s not good enough. And I think the initiative is amazing, hairdressers are beloved people… they form a great bond and hairdressers become counsellors in a way, they’re not really trained to be counsellors but through Sonia’s initiative you know they’ll have the resources and the contacts to really be able to help anyone that comes in looking for a safe place to be and looking for some information that they can actually use to help themselves. I mean it’s not just hairdressers, it’s barbers as well. Sometimes men feel threatened, men can feel threatened by women or men can feel threatened by other men, kids can feel threatened in their family environment like it’s just a vicious circle in a lot of areas,” she said.
For the announcement of her ambassadorship for HWH, Lisa’s company Happy Healthy You donated a further $2000 to HWH.
Along with the HWH team Federal Member for Longman Terry Young MP, Member for Pumicestone Simone Wilson MP and Moreton Bay Councillor for Division 1 Brooke Savige, were present for the announcement and to show their own support for the locally started organisation.
Federal Member Terry Young MP stated “Scott Morrison’s passionate about reducing domestic violence and also mental illness, are two of his passions.”
“The Morrison Government’s first priority is to keep Australians safe and secure. In particular we will continue to stand up against the scourge of domestic and family violence. The Morrison Government has made the largest ever Commonwealth investment of $328 million towards the National Plan to Reduce Violence against Women and their Children.
This record investment will focus on prevention measures and core frontline services. We have committed:
$78 million to provide safe places, including new emergency accommodation, for women and children escaping violence.
$68 million for prevention strategies to stop violence before it occurs.
$64 million for 1800RESPECT - the national sexual assault, domestic and family violence counselling service.
We will provide further funding of $82 million to successful frontline services in local communities and $35 million in Indigenous-led support and prevention measures for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities,” he said.
Also among those present on the day were HWH accredited hairdressers.
Margie Glee from Curlies Hair Salon, the first accredited hairdresser with heart in the Moreton Bay Shire, said “After studying my diploma in Community Services, and part of my course was to do some work at domestic violence, in Caboolture, I found joining Hairdressers with Hearts quite a worthwhile cause…I think a lot of women do come to their hairdressers and we have quite a special sort of bond that they can talk as women freely in our space.”
Linda and Ian Beaumont from Beaumont Care, the first aged care HWH accredited hairdressers in Australia, have 5 care homes spanning Wamuran, Clontarf, Rothwell, Kippa-Ring and Mt Tamborine and each of these residential homes have hairdressers visiting regularly, with little salons and bedside attention as needed.
Linda said “residents look forward so much to getting their hair done. Colours, foils, hair treatments, scalp massage, cut and blow-dry – all that you would find in a 5-star salon, along with barbering. This is a special time for clients, looked forward to this enjoyment. Our hairdressers are trusted, familiar and responsible, and like Sonia’s salon, this is an opportunity to engage with your hairdresser - the person who is caring for you where you feel comfortable and safe. Being in a position to hand a leaflet, provide a helpline number, and give reassurance is powerful, and for some, life-changing.”
HWH started locally here on Bribie Island but founder Sonia Colvin and the HWH team hope the initiative will spread nationally and that all hairdressers in Australia will be accredited to help provide clients in need with the right advice and referrals at the right time.
