LANSING, Mich. (News 10) – Child and Family Charities launched a new series called the “Barbershop Talk,” pairing haircuts with conversations led by trusted adults to get young men to talk openly about what’s happening in their lives.
Twice a month, young people between 14 and 21 can come to the Barbershop Talks series, get a free professional haircut, and talk about issues like gun violence, suicide awareness and fatherhood.
“To open spaces where we can have those conversations and have that dialogue, again, with peers and other individuals and leadership roles in the community, is vital to a young man’s success,” Botello said.
Antonio Botello III, with Child and Family Charities, said many young men carry their weight in silence, afraid to show vulnerability. For many men, a barbershop is the one place they can truly be vulnerable.
“In the male community, barbers are really important, and… you share some of your most intimate details about your life [with them]. There is a lot of things that you share with your barber that you don’t share with friends or mother and father,” Botello said.
17-year-old Vincent Lazarre is participating in the series. He said the conversations “help a lot.”
“People like this generation, they don’t really like speaking about their feelings. They try to keep it all going. Sometimes it’s a bad thing. So being able to express your feelings as somebody this age, it really does help you,” Lazarre said.
Lazarre has trusted barber Gilbert Albarez with his haircut since age three. Now that he’s older, he said these conversations are even more important.
“It gets a lot of things off my chest. It helps other people, too. They hear other people’s stories, too,” Lazarre said. “Just everybody coming together to be able to help one another.”
Albarez said every conversation with his client is different, and it can be as simple as what their plans were over the weekend.
“You know your client a little bit more each time. And the relationship just forms. And then you just feel comfortable when talking to each other,” said Albarez. “But that little …30, 45 minutes that you had with the client, you get to know a lot.”
Alvarez said he tries to give advice based on his experiences.
“I may be a lot older. I’ve been through the same situations. We just handle it differently,” said Albarez. “Through my experiences, I just try to get the best advice that I can. And what not to do,” Alvarez said.
The Barbershop Talk sessions occur bi-monthly from 1 to 3 p.m. at Child and Family Charities Dart Youth Education and Drop-in Center. The next sessions will be July 13, July 27, Aug. 10 and Aug 24.
If you can’t make it to a session, the nonprofit also provides a prepaid card to get a free haircut in the community.
Child and Family Charities is also looking for more barbershops to get involved to diversify the conversations. For questions and registration, email Amariana Buchanan at amariana.buchanan@childandfamily.org.
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