Barbershop at the Library - WYCC PBS Chicago

(Originally published via WYCC PBS Chicago)

In Chicago’s West Englewood neighborhood, where crime is often prevalent, one local library is offering young people an innovative opportunity to navigate the trauma and violence they experience in their daily lives.  Through a collaboration of local business owners and mentors, youth are given the space to share their struggles, get a fresh haircut, and gain a new perspective on their futures.

“I’ve never seen so many acts of violence and it being so normal in my life,” Isaiah Brewer, 20, says as he sits in a circle of his peers in the West Englewood Library. “We act like it's cool," he says. "We act like it don’t matter”

“We are betting on how many people get shot," Brewer remarks." We hear gunshots and we still keep cooking!”

Behind the group of youth, hair clippers are buzzing and two barbers are busy at work.  Once a month, Brewer and a handful of others teens gather in a meeting room at the library to share their stories, exchange a few laughs, and even shed some tears.

(Produced by Eva Green)

Michael James, a young man in the group slumps in his chair but still speaks up as the group switches topics to discussing their goals. His head hangs low and he gazes down at his white sneakers that are tied loosely with bright red laces. “My motivation is you know, choose another path to go down. Do what’s right,” he says trying to hide evident tears.  “I would hate for my Mama to lose another child.”

“Barbershop at the library is by far the greatest idea they have ever come up with at the library…”

- Isaiah Brewer

Adewole Abioye is the Teen Services Representative and started Barbershop at the Library in 2015 with a mission in mind as part of an On The Table conversation, an initiative of the The Chicago Community Trust.

“Kids were talking in a very honest open way and a lot of them had a lot to say," Abioye describes.

"We realized this is really important and...how would this look if we did this on a monthly basis?”

On The Table events aim to start conversations among Chicagoans from all backgrounds.  The demand in Englewood was so strong that the barbershop talks were expanded.

“There is a lot of trauma that a lot of people deal with on a daily basis, whether its physical violence, whether its psychological violence, it’s happening,” Abioye says. “That burden is weighing on them so how can we get them talk about these things in a very honest and open way?”

That is where Kenneth Clayton, who owns Longevity Barber Lounge, and fellow barber Darius Smith, known as “Red”— joined the partnership. They brought their shears and a strategy to transform perceptions of the neighborhood.

“All over the United States you have urban communities like Englewood that have a negative stigma,” Clayton says. “The gang banging, drug selling, the shooting. I just basically want to change that.”

Clayton says those changes can start in small ways, such as giving kids a fresh cut, helping to build their self-esteem. He insists on shirts and ties for his barbers. No displays of gang symbols or colors are allowed in his shop and he says he hopes others will follow his lead in the city’s most difficult neighborhoods.

“Whoever you are, you have to be able to give back finances, labor, knowledge and wisdom,” he says.  “Now if every individual did that, watch how this community change.”

It is clear that the bonds between the barbers and these young people are getting stronger. Each haircut offers a chance to connect with adults who care enough to listen.

“A lot of them want to be heard and they want to know that their voice matters and I think we have created an environment where teens can come and literally say anything,” Abioye says. “Hopefully that will lead to something even greater.”

(Please click here for links to originally published samples-WYCC PBS Chicago.)