MARYSVILLE — It was simple haircut, provided for free by students of the Everett Community College School of Cosmetology, but for families like the Christiansens, it made a huge difference.
As 11-year-old Xander and his 9-year-old sister, Samantha, received their trims in the Marysville Family YMCA Jan. 24, their mother, Christina, reflected on the impact that her husband’s departure has had on the family.
“I was already working full-time, but without his income, I can’t afford our groceries, bills or costs of living,” said Christiansen, who estimated that she’s “in the hole” about $600 a month now. “We’ve started going to the food bank, and relying on charity programs for the kids’ school clothes. Everything changed overnight.”
With no one else available to watch her two children, and day care costing enough that it would consume whatever extra income she could earn, Christiansen admitted that she feels like crying sometimes.
But like fellow Marysville mom Dea Kim, who also attended the Y’s first “Connecting Community” event for those in need, what matters most is making sure her kids don’t feel the sting of their circumstances.
“I’m a stay-at-home mom to our own two kids, but also our two nephews that we took in,” Kim said. “My husband is holding down two jobs as it is. We’ve already asked for help from folks for food, but you do what you’ve got to do.”
Stylist-in-training Kylee Johanson of Arlington was happy to spend her Sunday evening giving trims to those in need. She’s been doing other people’s hair since high school, and has taken part in charitable community events for those who can’t afford to beautify themselves.
“I like making people feel good,” Johanson said, before applying the clippers to Xander. “You meet all kinds of people doing this, and it’s nice knowing you’ve made them more content with how they look. It’s a way of giving back.”
YMCA member service personnel Amanda Knight and Melissa Willet helped coordinate the event, the first of its kind for the Marysville Y, and are already planning for follow-up events on the Sundays of Feb. 28 and March 20. Dinner again is scheduled from 4:30-6 p.m. and showers and haircuts running from 5:30-7 p.m.
“This was a long time coming,” said Knight, who explained that the “Connecting Community” event began with a plan to offer free showers at the Y for the homeless. It expanded into haircuts, dinners and dispensations of winter clothes and hygiene supplies. “With the number of homeless families in the area, especially these past couple of years, this was a no-brainer.”
Although the Y’s staff and members made arrangements to serve as many as 300 people, Knight noted that the Jan. 24 event was a pilot for the rest of the program.
“Even if just one person had stopped by, we would have done something to make his day, by giving him a full belly and a shower that he couldn’t afford,” said Knight, who credited the House Church of Snohomish with donating “blessing bags” stocked with toiletries and non-perishable snack foods.
Willet hopes to enlist the Salvation Army and the Goodwill Job Training and Education Center next time, and reported that she’d contacted a host of community service agencies about partnering with the Y in its efforts.
“We really are trying to get everyone in the community connected through this,” Willet said. “There are a lot of great services in this area, available to those in need, that they just don’t know about.”
