Sharon Smith is a hairdresser in Barrie who uses one of her days off each month to give those less-fortunate in the city an experience they will long cherish.
“I've been in my industry for a very long time, and I've almost exhausted all areas of teaching. It just seemed like a natural path for me to move into giving back to my community,” says Smith, owner of Connect Hair Studio on Burton Avenue in Barrie and volunteer for ‘Everybody is Somebody,’ a non-profit hair-cutting event for people experiencing homelessness.
A volunteer at Regional Hospice Simcoe for about 12 years, Smith says she has been given many special gifts over the last four decades and she feels very grateful for that.
'Everybody is Somebody’ started with Smith arranging for hairstylists to join her and cut hair at the Busby Centre. But the epidemic put a stop to the initiative.
“Following the pandemic, I decided that it was time to go back and I've reached out again. And a lot of the same people are jumping on board, and new people as well," Smith says.
Now that the event has returned and started to grow, Smith says it's great to see a unity of hairstylists coming together again for a common cause.
“Everybody is somebody! It could be anybody's brother, sister, son, or daughter. I just feel that they need to be humanized.”
The free haircut event – held on the third Monday of each month, between 1 and 4 p.m. — has provided Smith with unforgettable moments.
“I had a girl last month who was so happy that she cried and hugged me. It felt like she didn't want to let it go," she says.
Smith says most of the participants usually sleep during the haircut because they are so exhausted.
“In the world that they live in, where they constantly have to watch their things and watch themselves, it’s a safe space for them to relax and get their hair done and make them feel good," she adds.
She believes people experiencing homelessness are kind people that have just had challenging or difficult circumstances in life.
“They jump up and they want to sweep the hair with us, and I find that a lot of them are very grateful," Smith says.
Smith says about 15 to 20 haircuts are done in each one-day event.
“Some hairdressers do five haircuts. It depends on how many people roll up. The only rule is that their hair must be clean, freshly washed," she says.
There are currently eight professional hairstylists who have joined Smith so far, and “these are active hairstylists who are giving up a day off.”
When asked what she would say to encourage others to join, Smith says that some people are givers and others are receivers or takers.
“I can't tell a taker to give because it may not be as rewarding to them," she says. "It's either in you and you're going to feed it and make it contagious to those who give, or not.”
But Smith thinks most people do want to give and they just don't know how to get started.
“There are people that would love to give and just need some direction. And I want to share the cause because I think it works people's hearts to be a part of something that gains momentum," she says.
