A Moose Jaw, Sask., barber who gives free haircuts to the homeless wants to take his offering, Street Cuts Barber, across Canada.
Jason Gauthier recently graduated from hair school and has plans to take a motorhome across the country, serving vulnerable communities with a haircut, warm meal, and toiletries.
“As soon as we have enough money raised, we’re going to start in Winnipeg and go to all the major cities all the way to Vancouver,” Gauthier explained. “If we have enough money, we want to come back through all the lower cities, and go to Newfoundland and back (to Moose Jaw).”
A gofundme account has been set up with a goal to raise $15,000. Gauthier says he already has the trailer, which cost $7,000, but needs to pay it off and raise money for travel expenses.
Any money raised above that will go towards a film crew to eventually create a documentary of the trip, sharing the experiences with homeless people in Canada.
“We can start spreading this message and start removing the stigma around homelessness, addiction, and mental health,” he said. “I want to start a movement to encourage the people in those cities — barbers and anyone else, that they can do this as well because I’m just going to be there for a day.”
Gauthier was once homeless, dealing with mental health issues and addiction. He lived on the streets in Calgary, where the initiative began. Now, there are three chapters, the other two being in Moose Jaw and North Carolina, but Gauthier wants to bring his piece of empowerment to reach a wider audience.
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“I’ve worked as a front-line worker in several cities in addictions and counselling. It’s not just a Moose Jaw or Calgary problem. I’ve always wanted to bring this to a global level.”
Before recently graduating from hair school, Gauthier’s expertise lay only with men’s hair. Now, he’s confident to provide new styles for both genders.
“A lot of the guests that come to Street Cuts Barber are ladies, and I didn’t have the ability to serve them — but now I do. Once I get my journeymen ticket, I’d like to go a bit further and teach people who are less fortunate the craft of barbering and hairstyling so that they can have something other than what they’ve been suffering with, and can move forward in their lives.”
Gauthier said recently he had an intense experience that sheds light on what vulnerable people can go through on a regular basis.
“A gentlemen had just used drugs right before he sat in my chair. He knew he was in a safe place and knew he could talk to me,” he said. “I made a phone call and got him into detox. It was a scary intense moment but it came out with a positive.”
On top of haircuts and warm meals, Gauthier just hopes to empower people to give back, even if it’s not monetary.
The cross-Canada haircut tour is likely set for spring, but it all hinges on how much money can be raised and by when.
“I was hoping for November,” he laughed. “I’m ambitious though, but as soon as we can get the money together, we’ll go probably two-three weeks after that.”
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