The power of a trim: Free haircut service founder is WA's Local Hero of the Year - ABC Local

Craig Hollywood, the founder of free-haircut service Short Back & Sidewalks, likes to get his own hair cut every three weeks. 

Seven years ago, that fondness for a trim gave him a "light-bulb moment" about doing something to help people in need.

He was volunteering at another organisation and "noticed that there wasn't a lot of connection and conversation happening at the place that we were actually volunteering at".

"I thought, hang on a minute, when I was getting a haircut I was having a positive connection and a conversation with the person who was cutting my hair," he said.

Short Back & Sidewalks now has more than 200 volunteers and has expanded to three states.(Supplied: Short Back & Sidewalks)

"I thought maybe this is a service that we can give, because there's so many people out there that need positive connections — whether it be women with lived experience of domestic violence, youth at risk, members of the community experiencing homelessness — it's such a powerful thing."

One idea, thousands of haircuts

A free haircut might be a conduit for people to access further services, but Mr Hollywood said it was also about just wanting to do something positive for people having a difficult time.

Since starting in Perth seven years ago, Short Back & Sidewalks now also operates in Victoria and New South Wales and is run entirely by volunteers, from the hairdressers and barbers to those doing the communications and governance work.

Mr Hollywood hopes the service will break down some of the stigma around people in need.(Supplied: Short Back & Sidewalks)

Last week, Mr Hollywood was named Western Australia's Local Hero of Year, and is now WA's nominee for the national Australian of the Year awards to be announced in Canberra in January — something he's "still coming to terms with".

"I was up against some extremely amazing people and I didn't really think about the fact that potentially I could win," he said.

"I guess it's a testament to everyone involved and the impact that was made all across the country."

The next step, he says, is to hopefully secure funding to expand the organisation — which has more than 200 volunteers — even further.

Hair care and human connection

Data collected by NAB eftpos terminals on Melbourne's first weekend out of lockdown estimated that spending at beauty salons, barbers and hairdressers rose a staggering 2,340 per cent, totalling an estimated $7.2 million over three days.

Mr Hollywood said haircuts were not just about grooming, but also about the connection made with another person, something everyone missed during lockdown, and that people in need missed often in their daily lives.

The service not only offers free haircuts to people in need, it creates a moment of positive connection for its clients.(Supplied: Short Back & Sidewalks)

"I think the experience of having a haircut, and the therapeutic aspect of it, is kind of overlooked," he said.

"It doesn't matter what your circumstances, it actually gives people an opportunity to sit down, relax, to have a chat, to have a positive connection with another person.

"Just to have the empowerment of being asked what style you want, what your wishes are, and just to have a moment in time where, I guess. you're not judged in any way."

Breaking stigma of homelessness

Mr Hollywood said the organisation's volunteer barbers and hairdressers often found it a very emotional experience to meet and listen to the life stories of people who sat in their chairs.

"It really does immediately change people's views, because I think it really hits home, that homelessness is something that that can affect everyone and anyone," he said.

Short Back and Sidewalks: haircuts that come free of charge and free of judgment

Everyone feels better after a trim. That's what inspired Craig Hollywood to set up Short Back and Sidewalks, an organisation that gives homeless people free haircuts. He's found that a simple gesture can make a world of difference to someone in need. RN Breakfast reports.

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Although he's not a barber himself, the desire to help people in need comes from a personal place.

"I work in civil engineering, so I'm the last person that you want to go near your hair with a pair of scissors," Mr Hollywood said.

"I grew up in Glasgow, and then came to Australia, and I originally wanted to be a counsellor or social worker but, unfortunately, had gotten a little bit too far into my career and I made a decision to use Short Back and Sidewalks as my vehicle to be able to help people.

"I grew up in a loving family but we had a family member unfortunately pass away as a result of substance and alcohol abuse.

"I was really aware of the fact that this person was my uncle, and he was a lovely person and very capable of showing emotion and love.

"Just because of unfortunately, what happened to him, it didn't mean he was a bad person.

"I guess I just look at everyone in that situation in the same way as I looked at my uncle."

A Short Back & Sidewalks volunteer at work.(Supplied: Short Back & Sidewalks)

One of the goals of the past seven years has been to break down the stigma attached to people experiencing homelessness or who are in need of assistance, and to create a better understanding of the complex causes of their situation.

"The immediate go to, for a lot of people, is to say, 'They're drug addicts, so they're criminals or they're lazy or whatever,'" Mr Hollywood said.

"For us, it only takes for someone to come down to one of our events and just have a conversation with someone to realise that that's not the case.

"We'll only see actual changes when people are actually able to understand that [homelessness] is such a complex thing."

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The power of a trim: Free haircut service founder is WA's Local Hero of the Year - ABC Local
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