“Because when you look good, you feel good, and when you feel good, the opportunities are endless.”
That’s the “why” behind Haircuts For Those In Need, a nonprofit that gives free haircuts to people who can’t afford a salon or barber visit. Licensed barbers and hair stylists volunteer their time at pop-up events held at community organizations, providing 60 to 100 free haircuts every month and helping people hold their heads up a little higher like only a fresh cut can do.
Buffalo hair stylist Charlene Thomas started Haircuts For Those In Need (HFTIN) in 2018, the same year she opened her own studio, Salon de Coquette. At the time, she volunteered with Buffalo’s Good Neighbors handing out food in Downtown Buffalo’s Fireman’s Park to unhoused people on Sundays.
Charlene realized most folks had gone months or years without a haircut, so she set up a chair in the park and started cutting hair at no cost every two weeks. Now, teams of five to six volunteers cut hair four times a month at rotating host locations throughout Buffalo and Niagara Falls. Their clientele is varied.
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“Men, women, children, elderly—we literally cut everyone’s hair,” explains Charlene. “We take the time to do whatever haircut they like. We have regulars and return guests. People will request the same stylist because people like the way we work with their hair. We love seeing their faces and hearing their stories.”
Surveys conducted by the organization report that 50% of their clients are unhoused, 50% can’t afford a haircut and almost everyone walks or uses public transport to get their free haircut. HFTIN sessions often complement services offered by the charitable organizations and shelters that host the haircutting events.
“They add another valuable layer to what we provide—showers, clean clothing, toiletries, food and case management to apply for housing or rehab or benefits,” says Isohie Ogiugo, an outreach caseworker at Friends of Night People, where people lined up hours ahead of two HFTIN events so far this year. “The haircuts help our clients feel presentable for an interview or even to tour potential housing. After their haircuts, they are smiling, empowered and feeling good about themselves. It all helps them get to the next place in life.”
Stylist Shannon Ebert, a volunteer and board member, says the ability to offer someone who might feel invisible the opportunity to be seen is why she spends countless hours serving HFTIN.
“I had a woman who was around 20 in my chair at one event,” Shannon explains. “She was unhoused due to fleeing abuse, and she hadn’t had a haircut in about two years. She shared with me that she felt like she didn’t want to be alive anymore. But by having someone to listen to her and offer her a choice during her hair consultation, she said she finally felt seen. She said it made her feel human again. I was able to tell her that I was glad she was still here.”
How to help
Providing more than 1,000 haircuts every year takes a lot of resources. The organization is always looking for licensed barbers, stylists and cosmetologists to volunteer their services, even if it’s just a few times a year.
Monetary and Amazon wish list donations replenish supplies like capes and gloves, which are disposable to keep everything sanitary.
Haircuts For Those In Need is also raising money for a mobile haircutting bus, which will allow them to wash hair, store supplies and visit more neighborhoods.
To learn more, donate or get involved, visit us here.
