Good Causes

How one act of kindness has helped thousands of homeless people

Stewart Roberts is not your average hairdresser. After overcoming his own substance abuse issues (he's now been sober for over 10 years), he decided he wanted to help other people who might be struggling with similar problems.

So one week, in a random act of kindness, he picked up his hairdressing scissors and took them along to a homeless shelter. It was the first step on what has become a nationwide journey.

The idea of hairdressers using their skills to support vulnerable people took off and thanks to National Lottery funding, Haircuts4Homeless was established. Fast-forward a few years and Stewart has a community of over 600 hairdressers across the UK and Ireland who offer a couple of hours a month to provide free haircuts for homeless people at shelters during regular cutting sessions.

A haircut can have a huge impact on people’s self esteem and confidence, but understandably it isn’t high on someone’s list of priorities when they are homeless. By providing people with this service, Stewart helps to give his clients a mental and emotional boost.

He said, "It may be ‘just a haircut’, but it's the kindness shown that makes a homeless person know that people really care".

14th February 2020

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