Barber gives free haircuts at downtown Hamilton park to those in need. He's paid 'in conversations'

Nolen Greenspan rubs his hand along his five o'clock shadow as he waits his turn in the barber chair.

"This is not me," he says of the stubble. "I don't like it at all."

He's among half a dozen men lined up for Collin Alfred's free services in Hamilton's bustling, downtown Gore Park — an unlikely place for a beard shave or hair trim, but a "great opportunity" all the same, Greenspan says.

"I do need it for my confidence," says the 46-year-old Hamilton resident who is on a fixed income.

Alfred, 28, has been offering up his barber skills to people in need for over a year, as part of his community outreach organization, Beating the Stereotypes.

He estimates he's cut the hair of more than 50 people in the park on Saturdays. The outdoor setting hasn't stopped him from forming "intimate bonds" with clients, who open up about their lives, struggles and faith.

"It's like a barber shop — we sit around and have conversations about everything," Alfred said. "It's really nice to have someone who went through something really hard to trust a guy with clippers and blades.

"How I get paid is in conversations."

Alfred trims Justin Wilde's beard in downtown Hamilton. (Samantha Beattie/CBC)

Chris Dorman is a regular client experiencing homelessness. He nicknamed the set up — a chair, barber cape and small table with Alfred's barber tools — as the "chop shop," which has stuck.

He's come back because it's free and Alfred has "never messed it up," he said.

"I classify him as family," Dorman said.

Rob Ritchie wasn't far behind to have his head shaved. He said he receives social assistance and can't afford a decent haircut so he goes to Alfred instead.

Justin Wilde, who was due to get his beard lined up, does the same.

"I feel good, fresh," Wilde said.

Service inspired by U.S. organization

For years, Alfred said he had been thinking about how to give back to those who need a confidence boost and connection free of judgment.

He decided to focus on overcoming stereotypes after his own experiences growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, where he said he's been racially profiled by police.

"I wanted to do something where I beat the stereotypes as well," he said.

Alfred says he was inspired by his friend offering free haircuts in the U.S., as a way to help people experiencing poverty or homelessness. (Samantha Beattie/CBC)

Alfred said he saw the power of a good haircut when he visited his friend Joshua Santiago in Philadelphia last year. Santiago founded Empowering Cuts, a non-profit organization offering the same services in the U.S. as Alfred is now.

Then over Thanksgiving dinner in 2022, Alfred and some friends decided to jump in.

They arrived at Philpott Memorial Church on York Boulevard in Hamilton with 20 sandwiches and basic equipment.

"We gave out two haircuts and that's how it started," Alfred said.

Now he's at Gore Park close to every Saturday, often with his friend Shay Cooper doing outreach. Cooper said the initiative has been "spiritually led" and is based in a belief of serving the community.

"It's really inspiring to see what he has done and being along for this journey," Cooper said.

Alfred wants to scale up his work by creating a mobile barbershop truck that he'll use to travel between Toronto and Hamilton, as well as to the U.S., offering free haircuts to anyone in need he meets along the way.