Keiths Amazing Cuts
For someone struggling to survive without housing, small things like getting a haircut can be the last thing on one’s mind. But for participants at Pathways to Housing PA, a small gesture like a haircut can go a long way towards getting them on the road to recovery.
It’s a cold, snowy February morning, but you wouldn’t know if from inside the barbershop at Pathways to Housing PA. Pathways Certified Peer Specialist Keith Blackwell is giving haircuts to local participants, and their smiles light up the room. Keith carefully cuts and styles their hair while classic soul hits pour out of the radio behind him. He has a large barber’s kit in front of him with numerous combs, scissors, and clippers from his many years as a barber.
Keith began giving haircuts at Pathways two years ago, and he says it has really helped boost the participant’s confidence.
“If you look good, you feel good,” says Keith.
Nate says that this haircut will help him on the job he hopes to interview for soon.
That’s especially true of one participant named Nate, who says that he is now working on his resume, and that this haircut will help him with the job he hopes to interview for soon. In addition to building confidence, Keith says that giving haircuts helps integrate participants back into the community.
“When you’re living on the fringes of society, often times, you’re treated like an outcast. People avoid you. When you get a haircut, you feel presentable, you get a feeling of normalcy.”
This story is all too familiar for Keith. Keith was once homeless as well, and struggled with many of the same challenges as the people he now serves. Through it all however, he continued cutting hair, he says.
“Even when I was at the shelter, I still kept my tools to cut people’s hair. I wanted to continue to inspire people and create a positive atmosphere. It makes me feel good to make others feel good. ”
"They feel human. It connects them to humanity"
Keith’s barbershop at Pathways is also important because it acts as a safe place where participants can go and express themselves without fear of judgment. Keith acts as a sympathetic ear to people who have often pulled away from expressing themselves for fear of being misunderstood. One of those people is Bryan. Bryan was an Army Ranger in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, when he returned from his service, it was difficult for him to find a job. That caused Bryan to fall into a depression that culminated with him losing his housing for several months.
However, that all changed when Bryan came to Pathways to Housing PA.
“Pathways has given me a foundation. It’s a load off, knowing that no matter what, you’re going to keep a roof over your head.”
This is why the housing first model is so effective. Once participants have received housing from Pathways to Housing, they then have the stability to focus on other things that they had previously neglected or did not have the resources to address while without housing. That includes personal grooming, and it is Keith’s hope that his haircuts are one small step on the path to helping participants build independence and complete other tasks for themselves.
Keith says "it makes me feel good to make others feel good".
In the future, Keith says he will continue to give haircuts, because he feels that it works. He says he wants to keep building relationships with participants and get them to continue communicating with the people around them again.
“I've had some guys that will come in, and they’ll get a haircut and then they look in the mirror and they say ‘Wow, that’s my face!’ They feel human, it connects them to humanity.”
About the Author
William Fewer-Reed is currently a senior at The College of New Jersey. He will graduate in May with a Bachelor’s in International Studies and a minor in Spanish. He recently returned from a semester abroad in Argentina, where he volunteered to help alleviate homelessness in Buenos Aires. In his free time, William enjoys clearing out local Open Mic nights with his singing (some say howling) and guitar playing.
