Beyonce Cosmetology Center Helps Phoenix House Residents

Beyonce Knowles and her mother, Tina, were at a ceremony in Brooklyn on March 5th to unveil a project that the hip hop diva has been working on for several years. Beyonce and her mother both spoke at a ceremony unveiling the Beyonce Cosmetology Center for residents of Phoenix House. They also pledged an annual donation of $100,000 to the program that will train residents for a future in the beauty industry.

Phoenix House, which began in the late 1960s, is a nonprofit recovery center for people afflicted with drug and alcohol dependencies. It has centers in ten states with over 50 locations. One of the biggest problems facing residents when they leave Phoenix House is, of course, being prepared gainful employment. The program does provide vocational training with courses in carpentry, building maintenance, computer technology and culinary arts.

Beyonce said she has such great memories of the beauty salon in Houston, TX that her mother owned and operated because it was "a place for women to socialize, share stories, cry, laugh and get advice." The program is a 7-month cosmetology training course for adult men and women. French cosmetics company, L'Oreal is donating all the products the cosmetology training center will need. Beyonce has been a spokeswoman for L'Oreal since 2001. Beyoncé also said that she first visited Phoenix House in 2007 while researching her "Cadillac Records" role as Etta James, and became interested in being a part of the program.

Meanwhile back in Bey's hometown, a job fair was held on March 3rd to help many desperate men and women who cannot get a job because they are ex-convicts. The unexpected attendance of about 2,500 people caused Houston police to block off a street for a while.

The Road to Re-Entry job fair was held just west of downtown Houston on Wednesday and is believed to be the first of its kind in the Houston area. Organizers had even set up a website for people to register, but there was not a great response online until a couple of days before the event.

Community activist, Quanell X was a sponsor of the event sponsor. He said that no one had anticipated the large outpouring. "... None of us expected thousands."

Maybe Quanell X could get some help from Jay-Z. Think of it as "criss cross," Quanell. Beyonce comes from Houston and helped Brooklyn. Jay-Z comes from Brooklyn, so he could help out Houston. Maybe he could open the Jay-Z Rap School. Jay-Z is not an ex-felon, but he did plead guilty to misdemeanor assault charges in 2001, stemming from a 1999 incident in which he was accused of stabbing record producer, Lance "Un" Rivera.

Sources:
MTV News, "Beyonce "Very Proud" To Open Cosmetology Center," by Rya Backer, 3/5/2010
Houston Chron, Jailed, Now Jobless, by Moises Mendoza, 3/3/2010
Wikipedia.com, Jay-Z