PROVO — A night of beauty could be the answer to fighting domestic violence in Vietnam.

Paul Mitchell the School in Provo will offer haircuts and ask for donations to raise $10,000 for the Linh Vo fund. The fund aims to help rescue a mother and her three young children living in Vietnam from a physically and emotionally abusive relationship.

When Vo left Vietnam at age 16, she promised her mother Nyugeth Ho she'd get an education and return to rescue her.

"I grew up in a really unhappy family," said Vo, 23, an Orem resident. "My dad would beat my mom up every day and left her hungry until she passed out."

Vo grew up in Hue City, Vietnam. She is the oldest of nine children. Vo said her father drinks and beats all of the children in the family, but her mom bears the brunt of his alcoholic rages.

"I was lucky enough to get out of that house and come over here and have an opportunity to go to school, finish school," she said. "I want them to live with me. I want to support them."

Vo graduated in April with a Medical Assistant degree from LDS Business College. She borrowed a few thousand dollars to get a 30-day visitor's visa so that her mom could celebrate her graduation with her.

However, her mother has to return to Vietnam at the beginning of June to the abuse Vo said she's endured for over 20 years. Vo said her mother has called the police but has had no success.

"When they come, they say, 'you guys should make peace again,' " Vo said. "They don't have anything that would protect her from him at all."

Vo said divorce is not an option for her mother because she has no money and nowhere to go.

"We are afraid of our dad. Whenever he is drunk he just smashes everything in the house and beats us up for no reason," Vo said. "We have to run to the neighbor's and hide there from his anger. We start cleaning up the house the next day from everything that he smashed."

Vo's story is similar to some people at the Paul Mitchell the School in Provo.

"We've had our own students with similar circumstances as Linh that we've been able to support and give education," said Chris Halladay, the school's director. "It's a privilege for us to be able to reach out and support Linh in the needs that they have right now."

The school has a diverse group of charities it helps fund throughout the year, with efforts focused between the months of February and April. In 2013, the school raised $2.6 million for various charities within those three months and $11.2 million overall. The Provo school raised $15,500 of that total. The charities range in focus from military, animals, cancer, and mental health.

"I'm so proud of (Vo) for caring so much for her siblings," said Judy Richards, admissions leader at Paul Mitchell the School in Provo. "Wanting to do everything she can to help them so their lives can change."

The school hopes to change Vo's life as well. Paul Mitchell the School in Provo will host a fundraiser, Night of Beauty. The students will give haircuts and other beauty services, including massages. They hope to raise enough money to pay for Vo to bring her family to Utah from Vietnam to escape physical and emotional abuse.

"We've had so many people that we've been able to touch," Richards said.

Vo's story first received attention from Eagle Mountain resident Charone McCann. The two met at an Orem nail salon where the conversation turned from nail care to adoption and domestic violence. Vo now calls her "my American mom."

"Linh asked me if I was going to adopt anymore children and I said yes" said McCann, who owns Warriors 4 Nurturing. "She told me about her siblings in Vietnam and asked, ‘Will you adopt my siblings?' I said ‘Yes.' "

McCann is a Utah native with 27 kids and a disabled husband. Over the last 25 years, she has adopted 21 children, many of them with special needs including, mental health problems, physical ailments and criminal histories.

She runs Warriors 4 Nurturing with her mental health assistant Matthew Cowart. He helps take care of McCann's husband and kids with special needs. Cowart said McCann uses all of her own personal money to help those within the Utah community in need. He has a similar mission to McCann — to "protect those who are not able to protect themselves."

Both McCann and Cowart created Warriors 4 Nurturing to help people like Linh Vo, people who have hard and unusual circumstances with few options for help. She's working to start a charity because she said all of her kids and people she helps in the community have tremendous needs.

"Even my children that I have adopted demand specialized services," McCann said. "I cannot help them because of lack of money. But we're not going to stop helping people because that's what we do."

Warriors 4 Nurturing is taking their plea to help Vo to administrators at Paul Mitchell the School in Provo.

"I just felt so strongly inside that this was the right thing to do so I said yes," McCann said. "Even though I didn't what that would entail, I knew at that moment that I wanted to help this sweet young girl and her siblings."

Other groups have also joined in the effort to help rescue Vo's mom and siblings from abuse in Vietnam.

"I find it really hard to help a victim of an abusive relationship in a foreign country like my place in the Philippines," said Agnes Higley, director of Miss United Nations, Miss Asia. "They tend to keep it for themselves and not even want to talk about it. They would be ashamed to talk about it because of family reputation. A lot of girls do not have a means to break away or someone they can turn to."

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The center, a project of South Valley Sanctuary, is a partnership between the domestic violence shelter and the city. Its mission is to offer case management and referral services to domestic violence victims and local families.

A 2010 United Nations report states domestic violence toward women in Vietnam is "a serious problem." The report notes the problem affects all areas of the country, regardless of socio-economic status.

In a 2006 joint nationwide survey of Vietnamese families from UNICEF and Vietnam officials, approximately 21 percent of married couples said that they had experienced some form of domestic violence in their marriage with 50 to 70 percent of divorces linked to domestic violence.

The report notes that cultural values could be part of the blame for domestic values because women are encouraged to be subordinates to their husbands. Human rights observers note some within Vietnamese culture believe a man has the responsibility to discipline his wife.

Higley said she understands those cultural dilemmas because domestic violence shelters are not popular or easily accessible in some parts of the world.

"Although you know what's going on in the home, all you can do is offer is love," Higley said.

Higley plans to rally pageant contestants from Miss United Nations, Miss Asia and Miss Africa to provide cultural entertainment at the event.

Students at the school will cut hair for the regular price and will accept donations above and beyond cost of services. All proceeds will benefit the Linh Vo fund. Other cosmetologists from the community specializing in massage therapy, eyelash extensions, and nail care will also donate services.

As for Vo's "American mom," McCann said helping to rescue Vo's mom and siblings from physical and emotional abuse could have a lasting impact.

"Three more beautiful people will be able to get out of an abusive situation and be able to live a life of freedom," said McCann.

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