This Hairdresser Gives Free Haircuts To Homeless People

After holidaying in New York, Joshua Coombes was inspired by a scheme that motivated him to provide a hairdressing service for homeless people.

Joshua, who lives in Exeter, set up an area in the city centre and has seen a huge demand for his services.

This is Sherrie, 27. It was an absolute joy to cut her hair. She spent her first nights on the street as a young teenager and has been homeless or in temporary housing ever since. There’s one relative she still sees but strained relationships with family members make it difficult. Whatever past events/reasons add up to somebody being in this situation surely doesn’t warrant them sleeping outside for the duration of their adult life so far. So nice to meet her and her beautiful dog. ? by @mattspracklen #dosomethingfornothing #hairdressing #haircut #hairdressing #bath #somerset #fuji #fujifilm #vsco #vscocam #x100s

A photo posted by • Hairdresser • Musician • UK (@joshuacoombes) on Nov 4, 2015 at 10:14am PST

He can give up to seven haircuts a night and says he does it to “give something back and raise awareness of the homeless”. Josh and his friend, photographer Matt Spracken, said that they want to interact with people, instead of handing over loose change. They hope that their Instagram posts will get people talking about homelessness and what steps can be taken to improve matters for those living on the street.

Before and After of Darak. I enjoy talking to this guy so much. After seeing him around the city and getting to know him more it was great to finally get the chance to cut his hair. It nearly happened once in the past but he let others in need of a haircut go first. His generous nature and huge heart makes it harder when I see him going through a rough patch. Always a smile any time any place, massive respect for you brother ✌?️ ? by @mattspracklen #dosomethingfornothing #exeter #hair #hairdressing #menshair #malegrooming #haircut #barbering #street #homeless #expressandecho #vscocam #fujifilm A photo posted by • Hairdresser • Musician • UK (@joshuacoombes) on Nov 12, 2015 at 11:15am PST

“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.

This is Ozzy, 26. He’s been sleeping on the street for a year now. His last haircut was over 6 months ago so we had a good amount of hair to get through. We decided to keep more length on top with the colder season approaching. After the haircut he joked ‘girls might double take for the right reasons now!’? #dosomethingfornothing #exeterliving #exeter #menshair #hair Inspired by ~ #beawesometosomebody A photo posted by • Hairdresser • Musician • UK (@joshuacoombes) on Sep 28, 2015 at 11:16am PDT