A short cut to new skills for Emmaus Sheffield barber Stephen

Haircuts4Homeless is a registered charity set up by veteran hairdresser Stewart Roberts, who was inspired by the actions of hairdressers in various parts of the world cutting hair for the homeless.

Stewart set out to build a whole community of skilled hairdresser volunteers who give their time free of charge to give haircuts for homeless people.

And it was when the team arrived for one of their regular trimming sessions at Emmaus Sheffield that they met Stephen and spotted his hairdressing potential.

Emmaus Sheffield is the drug and alcohol free project that provides a home, support and work for formerly homeless people in the city.

Through its Social Enterprise programme it aims to provide meaningful work and enable the people it supports – known as companions - to eventually become self-supporting once more.

Having supported Stephen to develop his skills, the Haircuts4Homeless team have now also given him a full set of scissors,. clippers and combs.

And he is already providing free haircuts for fellow Emmaus companions and also for fellow city charity The Archer Project.

“Stephen is always keen to learn new skills and has been very successful on several of our retraining courses,” said Emmaus Sheffield Deputy Manager Charley Fedorenko.

“I think even he was surprised though when he discovered he had a real flair for barbering.

“Homeless people have many challenges to face, one of them often being a low self-esteem.

“A haircut can have a great effect on someone and having Stephen ready with his scissors and clippers is a valuable addition to the support already offered by the fantastic Haircuts4Homeless.

“A haircut might seem like such a simple thing to most people but Stephen and his fellow companions really have benefited from him learning this new skill.”

To find out more about Emmaus Sheffield and its work with the homeless visit emmaus.org.uk/sheffield/