Phoenix House women get Eagle Butte makeover
Not much improves a woman’s mood, or makes them smile more fiercely, than a new hairstyle or beauty treatment a local salon.
It does wonders for the self image, and gives her a spring in her step the whole world can see. This is doubly true when you have gone through terrible abuse or suffering.
For five women of the Medicine Hat Women’s’ Shelter Phoenix Safe House, who were given free beauty treatments and new hairdos by Eagle Butte High cosmetology students on Thursday, it’s all part of their journey back to feeling valued, loved and respected once again.
“Who doesn’t like to feel good, right? Who doesn’t like to be made to feel good?” asks Eagle Butte cosmetology teacher Ingrid Rose. “(For these women) it helps with their selfesteem. They get to come in here and relax. They get to walk out feeling good.”
“We really emphasize self-care at the shelter, and it’s just a wonderful opportunity for our ladies,” agrees Phoenix Safe House program manager Wenda Dunn. “Self-care can be taking a walk, reading a good book; but to come in here and have someone care for you is just a nice switch for a lot of the ladies. This is just an excellent partnership Ms. Rose has established with the Medicine Hat Women’s Shelter.”
For Rose, the partnership represents a win/win for everyone involved. The ladies from the shelter get a nice afternoon of pampering in their own private spa, and her students get to give back to community and make these ladies, who have had such a hard road, feel good.
“It’s important for my students to help out in the community,” says Rose; “to realize giving back to our community is very important.”
Her students seem to be absorbing the message.
“It’s nice these ladies get to leave here feeling pampered, and feeling better about themselves,” said Grade 12 student Kendyl Yanke. “You feel like you are doing something positive for someone else.”