City Lauds Abuse Support Program

Cambridge stylists, who say they already play a unique role in their clients’ lives, were honored at a reception last night in the Cambridge mayor’s office for being trained to respond to domestic abuse.

“Cut It Out Cambridge,” a program that trains stylists to be aware of signs of domestic violence in their clients, operates on the principle that victims of domestic abuse may feel more comfortable speaking to someone with whom they are already close than an authority figure.

The program began in five pilot salons in Cambridge earlier this spring.

“When you go to a hairdresser, it’s like going to a therapist,” said Alfred J. Mazzarelli, owner of one of the pilot sites, Alfred Harvard Square Salon.

“But you get your hair done, too,” he quipped to the audience at yesterday’s reception, which comprised city officials, salon owners, and public health workers.

Cut It Out Cambridge is a joint initiative of the Cambridge Women’s Commission and the Cambridge Public Health Department. According to Kimberly P. Sansoucy, the executive director of the Women’s Commission, the program was adapted from materials created by a national organization, Salons Against Domestic Violence.

“The salons were so hungry for information,” Sansoucy said. “Each of the five [pilot] salons we worked with...found a client who had experienced domestic violence.”

Salons that agree to participate in the program receive a free, hour-long training during which hair stylists learn how to recognize when a client has been abused.

The training—which is coordinated by employees of Transition House, a local women’s shelter, and The Guidance Center, which provides family support services in Cambridge—also informs stylists of available resources for abuse victims.

But agreeing to participate in the program does not obligate stylists to report suspected abuse to police or other authorities, Sansoucy added.

Instead, salon employees can help point clients to resources, Mazarelli said.

“Maybe if [a victim] isn’t ready to get help today, she’ll be ready to tell you tomorrow,” said Gail Council, who helps train salon workers for Cut It Out.

Mazzarelli, who has operated Alfred Harvard Square since 1983, said that his salon already has a close relationship with the Boston Area Rape Crisis Center.

“People don’t know how to get out of certain things—they feel trapped,” he said.

Cambridge Mayor E. Denise Simmons praised Cut it Out’s unconventional methodology, noting that the program could reach people who might not know where else to turn.

“Women in jeopardy get to a stylist more easily than another place that could offer help,” said Simmons, noting that getting haircuts is a part of many women’s routines.

Last night’s reception was one of several Cambridge events held during October in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

The other events included an annual candlelight vigil for victims of domestic abuse earlier this month and a Domestic Violence Task Force presentation by the Cambridge Police Department last weekend.

—Staff writer Sarah J. Howland can be reached at showland@fas.harvard.edu.