by Thomas Breen | Aug 22, 2019 7:59 am

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Posted to: Housing, Social Services, Downtown

Homeless New Haveners cooled down with free haircuts on the Green, as local barbers donated their time, shears, and hairdressing skills.

The event Wednesday was organized by Jesse Hardy, the founder of the advocacy group Jesse’s Homeless Outreach Project (J-HOP), in collaboration with local hairdresser Karaine “Kay” Smith-Holness and a handful of New Haven, Hamden, and Branford barbers.

Hardy said that this was the second free haircutting session he’d hosted on the Green this summer, which marks the seventh year in a row that he’s been organizing this event.

Not only does access to a free haircut give homeless people a chance to clean their hair and cool down in the summer heat, Hardy said. “It’s also a good opportunity to bring up spirits.” The barbers treat them with the same respect they treat all of their clients, Hardy said, people otherwise living on the street get to enjoy a rare moment of relaxation and care.

As someone who has been homeless himself, Hardy said, “When I was out here, there was no one doing this.”

“You have no choice,” Smith-Holness said when asked why she helps organize these free hair-cutting sessions. “We’re a community. The community allows you to take care of yourself.”

Nearly 20 people lined up at the base of the city parks department’s stage, which Hardy had rented for the event, as the barbers set up five swivel chairs and their various haircutting equipment just after noon.

One woman, who gave her first name as Terrell, said she couldn’t remember the last time she had gotten a haircut. “It means a lot to me ‘cause I’m broke,” she said about why she appreciates the opportunity to get a free haircut. Not having to spend money on getting a trim means she can save those few dollars for food.

The first two customers in line were David and Louis, both sporting shaggy beards and sweating from the mid-afternoon heavy humidity.

“I’m in desperate need of grooming,” Louis said. He’s trying to get a job, he said, and a new haircut will go a long way towards helping him look more presentable to prospective employers.

He sat down in the chair before Branford barber Keri Banks of Keri’s Cuts, and asked for a haircut short on the sides and faded on the top. She draped a mustache-patterned cape over Louis, and started shaving.

Louis closed his eyes in meditation as Banks cleaned the back of his neck. “Ever since I was a kid,” he said, “every time I get a haircut, I’m always so relaxed.”

Several minutes later, he stood up and rubbed his hand through his new do. “Amazing,” he said. “I feel so much lighter.”

Sitting to Louis’s right, David closed his eyes and let New Haven barber Dexter Jones of Dexter’s at 716 Dixwell Ave. go to work. Naughty by Nature’s “O.P.P.” played on a speaker system just behind Jones as he deftly switched between clippers and scissors.

“You look like a brand new baby boy,” Hardy shouted with a smile from in front of the stage. “Look at you! Hey handsome.”

A woman walked by the stage and shouted up to David with a smile. “Don’t think you’ll be cute when you get out that chair.”

“I was cute before I got in this chair,” David replied with a smile of his own, his eyes still closed.