“The Parent and Child Center will become a hair salon Aug. 24. But only for a day – stylists Aletia Bennett and Michele Belieu will take scissors in hand to run a cut-a-thon, a marathon of haircutting to raise money for the Helpline program in Commodore Center.Bennett decided to harnesses her skill as a hair stylist to help PCC because when she needed help for her son, the center was there.It’s a playgroup that you get to go to with your child, Bennett said. Thor and I went there two days a week, and it cost nothing. That’s why I want to give something back. Four-year-old Thor Bennett could already understand and speak a smattering of Japanese, Russian and seven other languages. He had learned to multiply, divide and to work with decimals. Bennett knew she needed to provide all the enrichment she could, but paying tuition at a private pre-school was out of the question for a single mother of two.Then she and her son found the Helpline program for families.They have tons of art supplies, books, trunks full of dress-up clothes, a play house, a big blackboard, and a huge dollhouse, Bennett said. Thor found what he needed and I did, too. Bennett says she has seen a diverse population use the center with their children, including nannies, young fathers, grandparents, and even entire families.On a slow day there might be as few as five children – but on a busy day there could be as many as 20 using the center.PCC program manager Lydia Harrison, a former teacher, started the program five years ago. I was a classroom teacher and guidance counselor, Harrison said. I came to believe that by the time problems are identified in grade school, they are so ingrained that it’s hard to target remediation.At PCC, Harrison said, the staff looks at what resources a family might need, ranging from counseling to support groups to parenting classes. We try to be a warm and safe place, Harrison said. We believe a healthy family has a lot of support.PCC is an unusual model because it is not need-based, meaning any family can participate. Parents who can no longer afford to live on Bainbridge often use the center. Community is community, Harrison said. It doesn’t necessarily stop at the boundaries of Bainbridge.The center is a great success, Harrison said, an opinion supported by the yearly increases in use of 75 to 100 percent. We’re very successful and we are because we value parents for who they are, Harrison said. We’re here to say ‘Being a parent can be very hard.’ Support comes from corporate sponsors and community groups like Kiwanis and Bainbridge Foundation. But Harrison said the individual contributions of people who have been helped by the center are special, because they bring outreach full circle. “