Thursday, October 2 | Volume 40 No. 29

Thursday, October 1, 2026

More Than Hair: Annual Event Gives Foster Youth Confidence, Community and a Sense of Belonging

By Angela M. Coggs

For Courtney Henderson, LCSW, the idea behind a special hair-care event for foster youth began with something she repeatedly witnessed while working in child welfare: children entering the foster-care system with hair and skincare needs that their new caregivers did not always know how to meet. What began as an effort to address that very specific need has grown into an annual celebration designed to give foster youth much more than a fresh hairstyle. On September 13, 2026, Henderson’s vision came to life once again as foster youth gathered for a day filled with hair services, food, games, music, face painting, prizes, fellowship and opportunities to simply have fun and feel celebrated. Held from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Mirror Mirror Hair Salon, 5404 Moreno St., Suite J, in Montclair, the Hair Care Event for Foster Youth carried a message that Henderson has emphasized since its beginning: “You deserve to feel amazing.” Henderson, a social worker in child welfare, said the inspiration for the event came from watching African American children enter foster care and experience a need that was often overlooked. “As a social worker in child welfare I would see African American children come into the foster care system and be placed in non-ethnically matched home with caregivers who could not maintain their hair or skin,” Henderson explained. In some cases, social workers themselves stepped in. “Some of us social workers would do the kids hair in the office,” she said. Those experiences stayed with Henderson. “Years later I had the idea of doing an event specifically to address this need so in 2019 we did our first event,” she said. The concept was simple but meaningful: create a space where foster youth could receive professional hair care from people who understand their specific haircare needs while also experiencing an environment where they felt welcomed, valued and celebrated.

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