Give and you shall receive! The time of year for giving is upon us, and the Parent Support Network of Rhode Island (PSN) continuously provides care and services to the community for those in need. On December 8, PSN put on a free event for parents and caregivers who put others first. It was their turn to get pampered and relax before the busy holiday season. A few services at the Self-Care Night for All Caregivers included basic haircuts from Empire Beauty School in Providence, essential oils, meditation, and skin care. PSN Executive Director Lisa Conlan, and Operations Manager Allison Zabala were excited to start the evening off with an interview.
Kelly Marino (Motif): What kind of support do you find most valuable, whether emotional, practical, or informational?
Allison Zabala: Parenting classes, positive support groups, we have peer recovery specialists, training for parenting under the mission of children, youth, and parents with behavioral health issues. They also may be at risk from child welfare and the justice system.
KM: What strategies do you use to cope with stress in difficult situations?
Lisa Conlan: Tonight’s event is a great example of the staff and families that we work with, coming together, and we are all just trying to have some fun, whether meditation, self-care, or karaoke. Whether we just do haircuts, beauty, holistically we try to find partners that can represent that holistic community to help us.
KM: Do you only network through people you know?
LC: Yes.
AZ: We also advertise on our social media and we sometimes have new families come in that we haven’t worked with before and we also advertise with families we already work with on our social media page too, bringing in more community. We do events like this for our families, self-care nights for parents and care-givers, and we do toy drives, so the families in the network can do their Christmas shopping here from donations.
LC: We have virtual raffle nights, support group nights, cookies & milk with Santa for our families. We help with basic needs by giving out a lot of Walmart gift cards.
One of the two of the volunteers from Empire Beauty School was a partner in-network with PSN. The stylists gave their input for supporting this event and they were excited to be there to help others.
KM: How can we best support each other at this time of year?
Lisa Duarte (Empire): We can support each other by making wellness accessible. When we show up healthy, confident and cared for, we strengthen the whole community. We support one another by leading with care, prioritizing health, embracing beauty in all forms, and building community rooted in confidence, connection, and love. By prioritizing health, honoring self-care, and uplifting one another’s beauty, inside and out, we create a community that heals, shines, and thrives together.
KM: How do you see cosmetology as a tool for empowerment, confidence, healing for people in need?
LD: ’Cause when you look good, you feel good! You live confident; confidence starts with how you feel in your own skin. Great hair, great moves, a great day! Feel-good beauty starts here!
KM: Imagine you were offering free services at a women’s shelter, what would be your approach to making them feel special and confident?
A.J. James (Empire): My approach would be one, you have to talk to your client, ask them how they feel, what they want, their angle. A lot of women’s shelters, you know, feel very insecure, there is a lot of lack of stability, and you feel out of control. So I would want to make them feel in control of their hair cut and what they want done, how they want it styled, what makes them feel beautiful, and confident. It’s like I just want to make them feel good and like they are actually having control over something in their life.
Affordable services are available for sharing the love of beauty at Empire School in Providence. PSN of RI is a non-profit, no judgement, help and support network for those with mental health, substance use challenges, or DCYF involvement. Get family support, learn about crisis prevention, and help children in crisis, or donate to the Parent Support Network and Hope Recovery Center.
PSN, 535 Centerville Rd., Suite 202, Warwick, RI. (401)467-6855
Hope Recovery Center, Westerly Community Center, 12 High St., Lower level, Westerly, RI. (401)598-6400.
Hope Recovery Center Middletown (401)324-5861
Hope Recovery Center Downtown Newport (401)324-5626
PSN Network Community Center Scituate (401)500-5392