Montgomery County hairstylist gives free haircuts to homeless

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A Montgomery County hairstylist is giving a helping hand to the homeless one haircut, shave and warm conversation at a time.

Laura Faehner Reed has been putting her skills to good use to help pay it forward for those in need by helping the homeless look and feel a little better.

"I want to give them encouragement. I want to give them hope. I want to give them love," Reed told FOX 5. "It's really important to give them confidence, to make them feel better. Some of them have job interviews and some of them already have jobs and just can't afford haircuts."

Reed, who works out of 4&Co Salon in Rockville and Ricks Chop Shop in Mount Airy, takes to the streets to provide her free services to the homeless, but said she is frequently asked to leave the area when she's helping people.

"I'm going to do it anyway. Even though I'm asked to leave I'll just go on other public property and do it anyway because it's a really good thing," Reed said. "It gives people a fresh clean haircut, makes them feel good about themselves, gives them a fresh start. They feel better. They want to do better and these are people who are just basically walked over."

Reed asks her clients for small donations, including small products such as hotel products to help her cause.

"The other day in downtown Silver Spring I cut hair through four people crying," Reed recalled. "These are human beings. These are people who should not be forgotten. They are people like you and me. This could happen to anyone and these are people who need a second chance and they need to feel better so they can get up."

FOX 5 and Easterns Automotive Group teamed up to help Pay It Forward to Reed by presenting her with a bulk supply of non-perishable foods, $500 in gift cards to purchase supplies, a towel steamer and a certificate to get her very own spa day since she is always treating others.

Reed has established a GoFundMe page where she is accepting donations to help her buy winter supplies for the homeless, including gloves, hats and coats.

If you know someone who should be featured on Pay It Forward, you can nominate them here. In your email, be sure to include who they are and why they deserve to be recognized.