Do you ever feel like all it takes to turn your day around is a good haircut? A reformed addict, Amanda Venable knows firsthand what a haircut can do for the soul.

Now a stylist at Bent Salon in Bloomington, Venable began to wonder the toll it takes on the formerly incarcerated and the homeless when their unkept hairstyles might cost them a new job.

She founded a program called “Caring Cuts,” which provides free haircuts to former inmates and to people experiencing homelessness.

“It reminded me of my journey and how not having any confidence to take on our day was un-empowering,” Venable said. “It was devastation.”

Co-owner of Bent, Reeve Andrews believes his salon is more than just a place to get haircuts, it aims to be a community that focuses on empowerment through service.

“It’s a place for someone to [have a] no judge zone, be themselves,” Andrews said. “Come get a great haircut, get some confidence and go back out into our community and be great.”

In fact, two salons—Bent and Shear Sass Salon in Bloomington partnered with a non-profit called New Leaf, New Life—which offers services to inmates in Monroe County Jail during and post incarceration.

That can begin with something as simple as a haircut.

“Depending on how long they are incarcerated is how long they’ve gone without a haircut,” Jordan McIntire, executive director of New Leaf New Life, said. “I think another important part is feeling good about yourself and having a little boost in confidence.”

As Venable has shown with her own life story, there is hope.

“We want to give everyone an equal shot. No matter what your past is, no matter who you are, you don’t have to be that,” Venable continues. “You don’t have to be your past. We can be whoever we want to be.”

And sometimes, a haircut is all you need to turn your day around.

The salons hope to have more people come in and take advantage of this service. For more information on Caring Cuts, contact Amanda Venable at 812.447.4956 or amandalynn061@gmail.com, or go to benthair.com.