mymetmedia.com
The Student Voice of MSU Denver
Volume 38, Issue 31
April 27, 2016
Haircuts and help for homeless veterans By Keenan McCall kmccall3@msudenver.edu A haircut, a warm meal, a source of income and an opportunity to learn: These everyday necessities and more were offered to homeless veterans during the inaugural Haircuts for Homeless Veterans event April 25. Held at the Volunteers of America Bill Daniels Veteran Services Center, the event provided several free services and supplies to homeless veterans including haircuts, dental care, hygiene kits, backpacks, blankets and food. The event stemmed from the work of Angela Schnaubelt, a community member who saw the need to assist those who had fallen on hard times. “I saw a video on Facebook of a salon that was offering free haircuts for the homeless for an entire day,” Schnaubelt said. “I was like, ‘That is so cool, we should do that here in Denver.’” Soon after, she met E.J. Walton of MSU Denver’s Veterans Upward Bound program who introduced her to Alada Oens, a former member of Volunteers of America. After learning VOA assists homeless veterans, Schnaubelt worked with Oens to change the focus of the event to assist homeless veterans in Denver and soon found an outpouring of support. Rock Bottom Brewery donated full course meals, TriGlobal provided hundreds of free backpacks, and Harley Davidson offered free shirts for volunteers and attendees. “The community kept providing us with more and more than what we had originally asked for,” Oens said. “It felt great to have a lot of positive feedback.” Volunteers expressed they were happy to offer support.
Veteran Mario Ellison has his abscessed tooth examined by dentist Countney Bourret at the Haircuts for Veterans event. The event offered a variety of free services such as dental screening, massages, haircuts, and employment resources at the Volunteers of America building April 25. Photo by Alyson McClaran • amcclara@msudenver.edu
“We pulled out all the stops and gave them what we would give someone who was actually paying us,” said Brian Mark, general manager of the 16th Street Rock Bottom Brewery. “A lot of these guys gave up a lot of their lives for what we have, and to do something as simple as this to help them is kind of a no brainer.” The event also provided services to help improve the homeless veterans’ situation including a miniature job fair and information on education Riley Bigelow volunteers his time to cut Timothy Edington’s hair during Haircuts for Veterans. programs like VUB. Photo by Michael Ortiz • mortiz26@msudenver.edu
“The community kept providing us with more and more than what we had originally asked for.”
— Alada Oens
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