She started her organization in 2016.
When Felisha Ruehmer’s friends kept tagging her in Facebook posts about a man who gives haircuts to the homeless, she took it as a sign.
Ruehmer, who went to school for cosmetology, said she decided to make a Facebook post in 2016 to see whether others would help if she decided to give haircuts to the homeless herself.
“When I woke up and checked the post, many people had volunteered to help and give ideas about how I could make it come together,” Ruehmer told InsideEdition.com. “I felt like God was calling me to do it so I said, 'I’ll do this if you show me how.'”
Ruehmer decided to host her first event to give out free haircuts in Aiken, S.C., in February 2016. She had several volunteers and hairstylists participate, she said.
She’d gone to local shelters to spread the word beforehand and 106 people came out to the event.
“It makes me feel like I am respectable again, an average person” said one man, in a video courtesy of Gofundme.com.
Since then, Ruehmer said she has given 1,300 haircuts to the homeless as part of her organization, Walking Tall. She also provides the homeless with showers, food, and clothes.
“If you think about how good you feel when you get your hair done, but it’s one of the last things on a homeless person’s mind,” Ruehmer said. “They are thinking about eating. A haircut can give them the confidence to stand up and instead of feeling like they are less than.”
Ruehmer has traveled to 17 states in an RV since she began her mission. Last month, she opened a headquarters for the organization.
The 37-year-old said she wants to continue to give back and to travel to different communities to help.
“It takes so little effort to be good to people,” Ruehmer said. “We are planting seeds of giving back.”
To support Ruehmer's efforts, visit her Gofundme fundraising page here.
