A fresh haircut is a monthly ritual for some Calgarians, but for others, it means a second chance at life.
That’s the goal of a new free haircut initiative for men recovering from drug and alcohol addictions at the Fresh Start Recovery Centre.
On the last Friday of every month, anywhere from 30 to 50 men line up as they graduate from the organization’s addictions program.
Their next step is getting back into the workforce and something as simple as a haircut can build the confidence they need before applying for jobs.
That’s what Stefan Horbay is trying to do. The 34-year-old is in week three of recovery at Fresh Start. He lost his job, but says he feels like an entirely new man.
“I’m just smiling you know, not only on the outside, I feel like I’m smiling on the inside,” he said.
“Getting a haircut today helps us emotionally with our self-esteem, physically we feel clean, you know, we feel more put together and it’s all part of our spiritual well-being.”
It’s people like Horbay that make giving back such a rewarding experience for Fresh Start volunteer co-ordinator, Nicole McKenna. She says the message is, ‘look good, feel good’.
“They’re walking a little taller, at this point they’ve had their teeth repaired, they’re working out regularly, and they’ve put their disease into remission so this just adds to the smiles,” she said.
“The pride and the confidence that happens after having a professional haircut and barbering is just unbelievable.”
That professional barber giving out free cuts is Matthew O’Donoghue.
The 28-year-old Calgary man has been in the barbering business for nearly two decades.
O'Donoghue has struggled with depression which led to drug use, but knew there was an answer through counselling.
"My shortcomings, my failures, although they're significant, they don't ultimately determine where I'm going to end up."
His newest clients at Fresh Start aren’t paying customers, but instead he takes value in hearing each person’s unique story.
“For a long time these people, especially when they’re going through addiction and using drugs, they’re so cut off from everything that people don’t look at them as people,” he said.
“Everyone says marijuana is a gateway drug, but the true gateway is bad upbringings, it’s trauma in their past, it’s these types of ghosts that nip at you.”
Matthew’s Journey
O’Donoghue grew up struggling with depression.
To combat his illness, he spent a lot of his time connecting with his mother, Marcy McPherson, who worked at a hair salon.
Eventually she put him to work.
"I became attached to my mother's love for the hair industry and an early age I decided that's where I belonged."
O’Donoghue found his new passion and credits his mom with giving him a new purpose in life. He apprenticed under her and after high school he enrolled in hair school where he became a licensed red seal hair stylist.
The skills he learned in the salon are valuable, but one particular lesson from his mother has always stayed true.
“She just said ‘stay curious’, those were the words she always told me," O'Donoghue said.
“I figured if I’m going to be here, I might as well be present, have an active role in people’s lives, so ‘stay curious’ became this motto that tomorrow might be the day it all turns around. I even tattooed it onto my chest.”
Sadly, O’Donoghue’s mom and stepfather both died on April 20, 2017.
The pair was driving on the highway near Carstairs when a driver changed lanes attempting to pass a truck and hit their vehicle head-on.
“She was on her way to pick me up and she never showed,” said O’Donoghue.
“I’ll never forget her. She was a lot of people’s backbones, she would stand up for people and she was just a very selfless, kind, genuine and honest person.”
It’s that same selflessness that led the barber to give back to others who struggled in the same way he did.
“I’m not here to say, ‘If I can do it, you can too.’ It’s more so genuinely talking to these people especially when they’re going struggles like I was.”
‘Stay Curious’
“It all comes back to that motto,” O’Donoghue said.
“It’s the third or fourth time for some of these people seeking treatment but you can see consistency in their dedication and to me that’s inspiring.”
Each month, the Fresh Start Recovery Centre provides 50 live-in beds for clients and outpatients. A family healing program is also open to anyone - men, women and children - affected by addiction.
The executive director of the recovery centre, Stacy Peterson, grew up in an alcoholic environment and a home filled with violence.
Peterson struggled with addiction himself and knows how it can destroy relationships, careers and personal health. He hopes a fresh trim is just one more tool to give men and their families a way out.
“This haircut is just one small part of recovery. It’s about learning to take care of yourself, Look in the mirror and say I like the person I see,” Peterson said.
“It might be that moment that someone looks at them a little differently or speaks to them a little differently and that changes their perception of the rest of the world.”
Fresh Start Recovery Centre offers its free haircut program at noon on the last Friday of every month.
