Helping the Disabled and Disadvantaged Look Their Best

There probably isn't any one particular reason to account for Don Knypstra's determination to help disadvantaged and disabled people look and feel better about themselves.

It could have begun when he was a child, virtually paralyzed at age 3. People guessed it was polio, but they guessed wrong. Knypstra had an uncommon case of arthritis. Treatment helped but he wound up in a class for the disabled. That's where he learned about being made fun of and the hardships others confront every day.

Or maybe it was in the mid-1990s when, after getting his cosmetology license, he volunteered at a hospice connected with Northridge Medical Center.

"Sometimes people in hospices can become incoherent, but you give them a wet shampoo and they wake up," he said.

Or maybe it was all the times that the Chatsworth resident organized volunteers to give free haircuts and shampoos and other cosmetology services to the homeless or seniors who can barely afford life's necessities.

Whatever it was, it drove Knypstra, 55, to establish the nonprofit organization Ridone. (The name combines Knypstra's first name with that of Rita, the love of his life back in cosmetology school days). Funding for Ridone comes from a variety of sources, including the Kiwanis, businesses, raffle sales, fundraisers and individual contributions.

Ridone is the organization behind the second annual Families in Need Cut-A-Thon, scheduled for 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Samaritan Center of Simi Valley, 280 Royal Ave. Dozens of disabled, disadvantaged and homeless are expected to be pampered and groomed while their self-esteem gets a major boost.

The effort is not unlike the service Knypstra provided just before Thanksgiving at the Simi Valley Senior Center.

"You should have heard the raves from the staff and the participants about your service," wrote Simi Valley council member Glen Becerra afterward. "They couldn't stop talking about how wonderful your volunteers were and how special they felt. You could not have done a better service to a more deserving group of individuals."

But that's only one part of Ridone, Knypstra said. The organization is helping to train and certify cosmetologists to serve the disabled and, perhaps as early as this year, establish salons designed specifically for those with disabilities. (Knypstra even invented a bowl for shampooing people in their wheelchairs.)

"There are 1.5 million salons, and people spend $34 billion for cosmetology services, but there's no single salon for the disabled," he said, and offered an explanation.

"It is a cash-driven business," he said. "If I have to work on someone in a wheelchair it might take me a little longer. It might take an hour and a half for me to give a haircut." The industry figures it's not worth taking the extra time, he said.

"So I've been going around explaining that it is worth it and here's why: If I do a really good shampoo and cut for someone in a wheelchair, often they'll have friends and family who will come to me because I've done that. And that's an eye-opener because it could be very profitable. It's an area the cosmetology industry totally missed."

Knypstra said his work is about beautifying people, raising self-esteem, maybe even making someone attractive to a potential employer. The Ridone website has a video in which four homeless people with diverse backgrounds talk about how meaningful the service was to them. (See the adjacent photo box.)

"With homeless people, you've got a high percentage that go back to drugs, back to alcohol. If only one out of four succeeds, we've won the battle," Knypstra said. Then he reconsiders. "Realistically, one out of four is a good number but I'd love to see three out of four, or all four."