B. Jawuan Jones cuts the hair of a client, Darien, as part of his pop-up barber shop on Broad Street
It’s 11 a.m. on a Monday, and local barber B. Jawuan Jones heads out to the median section on Broad and Walnut streets with a chair, a speaker and a barber’s table as he prepares to give out free haircuts to Philadelphia’s homeless population. Jones first started donating free haircuts to Philadelphia’s homeless community in 2017 and has since turned a small operation into nearly 60,000 haircuts given to the city’s unhoused population over seven years.
A line of mostly regular clients begins to form across the street, all waiting for their turn in Jones’ chair.
Just a few blocks away, the nonprofit organization Broad Street Love opens its doors to provide additional resources such as clothing, toiletries and food, while also offering access to medical and legal services. Similar to Jones’ operation, the organization sees a daily flow of recurring individuals, many of whom have been coming for years.
These resources and more exist in great numbers across the city to provide care, shelter and basic necessities to Philadelphia’s substantial homeless population. The city has its own department dedicated to fighting homelessness. The Department of Homeless Services works with more than 60 nonprofits based in the city to provide care to Philadelphia’s unhoused community.
Despite this, Philadelphia’s homeless population has reached staggeringly high numbers. This year, the city’s homeless population reached 5,191, a 38% increase from last year’s 4,488. That figure does not include those uncounted by official statistics.
Darien, a client of the Haircuts 4 Homeless service, waits to receive a haircut.
“I have a lot of resources available, I just don’t use them”
Darien, a frequent client of Jones and a Philadelphia-based individual experiencing homelessness, attributes his situation largely to an ongoing struggle with sobriety.
“For me, it’s drugs. If I don’t wake up with a positive attitude, the first thing I’m gonna go to is the drugs,” he said.
Luchee, another of Jones’ clients, sees the underutilization of resources as an informational issue.
“There are places where you can fulfill your basic needs. You just have to seek it out. If you don’t seek it, you will remain ignorant to the help out there,” she said.
There are statistics to support Luchee’s argument. The city reports that 4,215 unhoused individuals in Philadelphia have used city-provided shelters, while 976 — nearly 19% of the homeless population — remain on the streets.
Local organizations such as Project HOME, a nonprofit organization that provides housing and rehabilitation services to people experiencing homelessness, work alongside the city to provide extra housing outside of the city’s facilities. Jazzmyn Gamble, who works communications for the organization, explained that “[the city’s] coordinated entry system allows individuals to receive housing and services more quickly, and allows organizations to pool data in order to more accurately understand our population’s needs. Project HOME transitioned to a Central Intake model in 2018, in tandem with the City of Philadelphia’s new Coordinated Entry system.”
Similarly, Community Behavioral Health offers caseworkers and mental health services to more than 800,000 eligible Philadelphians dealing with addiction and mental illness, both housed and unhoused. However, the office reports that only 13% of eligible clients routinely use its services.
What contributes to this stark disparity? A lack of awareness about available resources among eligible individuals may be a key factor.
Source: National Library of Medicine, Philadelphia Department of Homeless Services
Jones’ work is largely publicized through his social media pages, which have amassed more than 150,000 followers across multiple platforms. However, 20% of surveyed homeless individuals nationwide do not have access to internet-enabled devices, leaving them at a disadvantage when it comes to finding resources like Haircuts 4 Homeless.
That number could grow higher as the Federal Communications Commission recently ended the Affordable Connectivity Program, a government initiative providing discounted internet to low-income individuals. The move places the program’s 23 million users at risk of losing internet access.
Jones takes a picture of Luchee following her haircut to post on his viral Instagram page, @Haircutz4Homeless
Luchee, who often frequents both Haircuts 4 Homeless and Broad Street Love, said she only learned about them through word of mouth.
“I know about [Broad Street Love] through my cousin. She got housing through them. They were actually able to help her get housing twice,” she said.
Alongside internet access, Jones believes the treatment unhoused individuals receive at these spaces often discourages them from returning.
“[They’ve] been talked down on for so many years that they feel as though no one really cares about them. They start to feel defeated and don’t reach out for the help that they need,” Jones said.
Jones, who plays uplifting music while cutting hair to create an encouraging atmosphere, says making clients feel valued is key to encouraging return visits and improving their chances of rehabilitation.
“They’re not gonna come back if they don’t feel wanted. It’s about creating an environment where they can feel as though they are capable of changing their circumstances,” Jones said.
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