STOCKTON — Mary Foshee has come full circle from being homeless and living in a van with her then-4-year-old to where Sunday she and her son, now 12, eagerly volunteered with Stockton 209 Cares to provide free haircuts and other amenities to about 250 people in need of assistance.

CORRECTION: APRIL 25, 2016

Nancy Lamb was a member but not the founder of the online group Stockton Has Heart. Incorrect information was included in the print and initial online version of this article. The error has been corrected.

STOCKTON — Mary Foshee has come full circle from being homeless and living in a van with her then-4-year-old to where Sunday she and her son, now 12, eagerly volunteered with Stockton 209 Cares to provide free haircuts and other amenities to about 250 people in need of assistance.

“It’s a blessing. I don’t know of anybody else that does this kind of outreach here,” said Foshee, 37, of Tracy. “This touches my heart to see their smiles. I’ve been both a recipient and a giver.”

Her son Alexander, who helped hand out food, said he enjoyed the experience at Sunday’s Cut ‘N’ Clean event in Columbus Park off South Lincoln Street.

“It’s 'cause we were here; we were homeless before. I remember living in our van. I remember when my mom got us a small room — cucarachas (with cockroaches),” Alexander said.

One of the organizers of Sunday’s event, Nancy Lamb, 41 — who was a member of the online group Stockton Has Heart after getting out of homelessness herself — noted the outpouring of volunteers and donations for the homeless provides a vivid illustration of just how “the Stockton community comes together for our community.”

In addition to barbers and stylists providing their services for free, Patti Small and Stephanie Beck from Barking Lot provided free grooming services and food to anyone who showed up with their pets.

“They’ve all been such well-socialized dogs,” Small said of participating in her first Cut ‘N’ Clean event.

Donated clothing, hygiene products, a free lunch and 80 pounds of fruits and vegetables — courtesy of Leo Garcia’s 209 Farm Fresh Produce — were also provided to anyone who came off the streets.

Lamb and Foshee said one of the toughest things about being homeless is finding resources like shelter and services.

“We do what we can do to get the word out on how to fix the homeless problem,” Lamb said. “When we first started Stockton 209 Cares, we were very limited on resources. But this year we have more resources. We were able to place five people in shelters today.”

She admitted, though, that she was still working on finding a place to house a homeless family of six somewhere in San Joaquin County. “We’ll even transport them to a different town if there’s a place.”

Artist Nicholas Burnett, who created the Cut ‘N’ Clean event last year, was thrilled with the turnout of the homeless and appreciative of the volunteers who helped.

“I’m really impressed with these volunteers. There are so many people here coming together,” Burnett said.

Among them was Miss San Joaquin Malorie Bournazian, 16 — a student at Tracy High School — who said she was happy to provide a little “positivity” in people’s lives.

“Seeing them smile is really helping. People need to know it is OK to ask for help. People deserve a second chance. You can come back,” Bournazian said while handing out toothbrushes.

Barbers Bryant Romano and his son, Andrew, 16, came to Stockton from Sacramento for the day to volunteer.

Watching his son give 5-year-old Brandon Sierra a fade cut, Bryant Romano said: “He just wants to give back. It teaches him not to take things for granted.”

Recipient Erika Regalado, 47, who hasn’t had anyone style her hair in more than four years, was extremely thankful for the pampering provided by volunteer stylist Annelissa Hammonds, 21.

“This really helps us out. We have nowhere to go to get us a haircut. This makes us feel pretty,” Regalado said.

Gesturing toward Hammonds, Regalado said, “Thank you for that. She has a big heart.”

— Contact reporter Joe Goldeen at (209) 546-8278 or jgoldeen@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/goldeenblog and on Twitter @JoeGoldeen.