Restoring Patient Dignity Through Haircare

Our Mission

From Root to Recovery is a volunteer-driven initiative that aims to provide haircare products, services, and dignity-centered support to inpatients located in hospitals, hospice, and other healthcare facilities. Many patients struggle with mental illness, physical disability, serious disease, or age-related issues, and lack a proper support system to help them with their basic needs. We believe hair is an important form of identity and confidence, and that it should be taken care of at every stage of life, no matter what each patient is going through.

998B115F-C04A-465D-AD25-1CDCCC2CC590_edi

As of Recent…

30 Care Packages for 30 Patients

We are currently in partnership with St Marguerite’s Manor and Dulcina Hospice to provide haircare essentials to patients. Our recent donation drive gathered over $300 in donations along with 2 whole bins of hair product ready to be assembled into care packages. Over 30 care packages were created and distributed to the patients at this location.

2 types of packages were made; one for straight hair, and one for curly hair, to ensure that everyone’s haircare needs are met.

Hi, I’m Claire

and this is why I started From Root to Recovery

I am a third year Biomedical Sciences student at the University of Calgary who has expressed an interest in patient care through school, volunteering, and family. My love for haircare has been present almost my entire life. I have tried all sorts of cuts, colours, and even hair extensions! Personally, I cannot leave my house unless my hair is washed and styled, as I consider hair one of the most important parts about my identity.

Through my volunteer commitments with Alberta Health Services, I have had the opportunity to engage with hospitalized patients through conversation. During my time volunteering, I saw a true diversity of patient needs based on mental illness, physical disability, or age-related conditions.

I began to understand how these conditions often came with severe fatigue, which lead to a number of patients being forced to neglect their physical appearances. Many have stated that this contributed to a rather dehumanizing experience at the hospital, because doing their hair or makeup was a part of their daily routine. When someone loses their ability to live like they used to, they may feel a low sense of confidence and self worth. The goal of this initiative is to restore patient dignity through haircare, an aspect of physical appearance that is closely tied to a patient’s identity.