Events
M
ichael John (MJ) Derricott has been a stylist
in Los Angeles for over 20 years. He’s also
been an active volunteer in the community
during that time, offering his services to the
homeless there and other organizations. He told us that
in addition to donating his services for silent auctions
he “probably purchased enough of those Thin Mint Girl
Scout cookies to own stock in the company,” and added
“I of course wrote checks out to my personal favorite
charities throughout my career.” But something
changed in 2012—he says, “I had a change of heart,
and I felt like I needed to take what I get paid to do and
give that away for free.”
“I found a shelter in Hollywood called Get Love.
It helps homeless people transition into permanent
housing, and Tuesdays were women’s days. So I went
every Tuesday for months and just cut hair for homeless
women having no idea that it would one day turn into
what it is today...It hit me pretty quickly that the women
needed more than a haircut to change their lives, and
I was thinking to myself it might be something that
should happen at a different point in their own journey
to have a bigger impact in helping them move forward,”
says Derricott.
Derricott realized that many of the homeless women
he was helping were veterans. He told us, “Homelessness
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COSMOBIZ SALON NOVEMBER 2015
with our veterans is really an unfortunate situation.
Females who have served in our military are twice
as likely to become homeless as a civilian woman,
and homelessness is actually kind of described not
necessarily living on the streets but if you’re not living
in your own home, if you’re in a facility, transitional
housing, or sleeping on friends’ couches, going from
home to home … that’s also considered homelessness.”
He decided to try to help.
MTM Gets its Start
Enter Makeovers that Matter. In the beginning “[i]
t was a real grassroots effort because it was just me,”
says Derricott, but his volunteer base has grown quite
significantly since then. What started with Derricott
handing out coupons for a free cut and color has now
become a thriving organization of hair stylists, makeup
artists, dieticians, yoga instructors, acupuncturists,
Chinese herbalists, spiritual healers, nutritionists,
and others all pulling together and offering their
individual expertise to help female veterans make a
smooth transition back into civilian life and get into the
workforce.
Derricott explained that United Way “estimates that
between now and 2017 in the Los Angeles area alone an
additional 6,000 women are going to be returning from