BURIEN, Wash. — A haircut and brand-new clothes — it's a powerful combination.
"You look good on the outside, you feel good on the inside,” said Jim Herbstritt, one of 60 men at Union Gospel Mission's Riverton Place being transformed today with new hairstyles and wardrobes — the culmination of recovery from homelessness and addiction.
"This is an awesome event. It's called Suit up for Success,” said Jim Croone, director of Riverton Place. "It gives them a great sense of self-esteem to be able to put on a suit and say, 'OK, I feel good about myself.'”
“They really make me feel like I matter. It's been a long road, and I've always been on the outside, and they let me know that I wasn't on the outside, that I'm part of something,” said Herbstritt as barber Jordan Ross cut his hair.
"It's an honor for me and it's a privilege to be able to give back,” Ross said.
After the haircut, Herbstritt gets fitted with new clothes he'll wear to a job fair later in the day.
"I feel great, haven't felt like this in a while," he said.
Darcy Camden and her team at Styled Seattle gather information about each man, making sure the clothes are a fit for their career goals – and for them.
"We also asked them to describe themselves in three words. This is just really powerful,” said Camden, reading the men's descriptions of themselves. "Thoughtful, hard worker, empathetic, funny, trustworthy reliable, enthusiastic, educated, dependable and happy. So, we thought about all of that when we were putting the clothes together."
Herbstritt plans to go back to school and pursue a career as a drug and alcohol counselor.
"I think I could really help people," he said. "And, you know, I was in a really dark place, and this place helped bring me out of it. And if I could just help one person come out of where I was, it would be worth it."
Clothes don't make the man, it's what's inside that counts. Suit Up for Success has these men both looking good, and feeling good. And taking a step, in nice new shoes, towards a brighter future.
“These people here are amazing. They change lives. Place is a miracle factory. It really is,” Herbstritt said.
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