NATHAN Curby is closer to ending an eight-month nightmare on the streets after receiving a free makeover from Brisbane community members last week.
Local charity founder and Catholic award recipient Grant Richards, who was homeless for 18 months, offered to take Mr Curby to a local salon for a haircut and shave after finding out his mother died of a heart attack last December.
“When we heard his mum died two and a half months ago we were devastated and wanted to do anything we could to help him,” Mr Richards said.
His charity, Signal Flare, agreed to give Mr Curby a full transformation, which included a haircut and shave, a new job and a roof over his head.
Mr Curby hoped a new job and home would also help reunite him with his nine-year-old son.
“Today is day one of a new leaf turn over,” he said.
The pair scheduled a makeover at local Brisbane salon Jimmy Rod’s last week, but wasn’t expecting local Member for Gregory Lachlan Millar to foot the bill.
Mr Millar said he was visiting the salon for a haircut when he found out about Mr Curby’s struggle on the streets.
“We all go about our day to day worrying about things and then here was this bloke that’s living on the streets,” Mr Millar said.
“When I walked out, I overheard the bloke who cut his hair tell Grant that he would have to pay for the haircut and shave.
“I decided to fix it up.”
Mr Curby said Mr Millar’s gesture “totally spun me right out”.
Mr Millar said he was touched by Mr Curby’s intention to turn his life around.
He said people like Mr Richards who worked to turn around the lives of the vulnerable needed to be “applauded”.
“As a society we all need to get involved,” Mr Millar said.
“We need support structures to be around these people so they can get back on their feet.”
Mr Richards said one of the hairdressers was willing to offer free haircuts to the homeless once a week “forever”.
