At Bushwick Leaders High School, students provided free haircuts to community members on Tuesday.
The event was part of the barber program run by Good Shepherd Services, a local non-profit that provides mentorship, training and job placement opportunities to youth after graduation.
"At Bushwick Leaders High School, students get hands-on experience with cutting and styling hair. Other services include manicures and eyebrow waxing," said Adam Bartholomew, community school director at GSS.
The educational advocacy began when GSS initiated a family support program in South Brooklyn in 1972. The organization soon began to collaborate with the New York City Department of Education. This collaboration helped develop what has become a broad range of innovative and successful support models in schools.
The program is taught by Kenyatta Freeman, a master barber and licensed cosmetologist. She meets with participants three times a week at the school in the classroom-turned-barbershop.
Previously, when the program launched in March 2018, in East New York, it lasted three months and had 11 students.
"GSS plans to bring in a new cohort of participants for the program every year," said Bartholomew. "This was the first cohort to complete the new program site at the school, with eight students."
The program launched late last year. It currently runs through the school year, from September 2021 to June 2022.
Additionally, it is one of the college and career programs offered by GSS. At the end of the program, students receive barber licenses.
"As part of this process, participants also get the opportunity to develop skills including personal communication," said Bartholomew. "They also learn how to be professional and manage tasks."
For more information on the program, residents can call GSS at 212-243-7070. For parents who want to enroll their children in this program or any educational or vocational programs, you can reach out to Theory Thompson, the director of the educational and vocational programs.
