A cut above the rest..? This barber gives out free haircuts through the night to help the homeless.
After a busy day in the salon he isn’t one to go home and chill, instead Joshua Coombes gives free haircuts to homeless people in Exeter. As you can see from these pictures, he does a pretty damn good job and it seems to cheer them right up.
A photo posted by • Hairdresser • Musician • UK (@joshuacoombes) on
The 28-year-old – who works at Jeff Goodwin’s salon in Exeter – was inspired by a similar scheme he saw whilst on a trip to New York. His services have attracted a lot of interest, with massive queues forming every night when he sets up shop on the city’s streets. He can cut up to seven people’s hair a night. Accompanied by friend and photographer Mark Spracklen, they have been posting their exploits on Instagram and our hoping their free service create awareness and offers them a chance to have a chat and interact, instead of just giving out nominal change when passing by.
Andy has been homeless since young adulthood so the streets are his home and all he knows now. His haircuts are seldom due to obvious financial reasons so we decided to take it nice and clean to last him through until next season. It was great to spend some time with this man listening to his stories while I cut his hair. There’s so much we can learn from the faces most of us pass by without a second look. ? by @mattspracklen #dosomethingfornothing in #exeter #streets #exeterliving #hair #menshair #malegrooming #haircut #homeless #barbering #vsco #vscocam #fuji #fujifilm #letthegoodtimesroll A photo posted by • Hairdresser • Musician • UK (@joshuacoombes) on
Talking to the Western Daily Press Josh said:
For me, it is about giving something back and raising awareness of the homeless and by doing it on the street, it breaks the generalisation and so far it has been a good response. Giving haircuts is such a small thing, it is just me going up to someone having a chat and cutting their hair, they really appreciate the gesture. Doing something good for nothing really wakes people up. It is just me giving up a bit of my time, it is a great experience and it is really humbling for me.
So far, the pair have visited quite a few cities around Devon and are planning a trip to Yeovil next week. They’ve started the hashtag #dosomethingfornothing to encourage and inspire others to help the homeless in any way they can.
A photo posted by • Hairdresser • Musician • UK (@joshuacoombes) on
If this doesn’t get you inspired to help the homeless, I don’t know what will…
