DENVER — Cesar Pulido founded The Give Back, an organization that helps those experiencing homelessness. Volunteers hand out deodorant and other hygiene products, but their main service is free haircuts.
“The community that doesn't pay for it feels more gratitude and appreciates it more often than the people that come to the barbershop and pay for a haircut,” said Pulido, while posted up at a micro-community in northeast Denver. “What I enjoy about it is how it makes them feel better and greater about themselves.”
Pulido doesn’t do it alone. He regularly recruits Denver area barbers to join the cause, often by speaking to students at the Emily Griffith Barbering Program. Mickie Reynolds was one of those students. She graduated and started contributing to The Give Back about a year ago.
“I just see everyone as people,” said Reynolds. “Everyone needs a haircut and I'm a barber. So that's what I'm going to do."
A haircut can go a long way. It improves mental health and self-confidence while helping people secure job opportunities. It can be a physical help, as well.
“You can go from having a full head of hair with temperatures so high,” said Chris Montanez, another barber at The Give Back. “Going to a buzzcut, you can feel the breeze and coolness instead of all that heat and sweat getting on your body.”
It’s also a great way to get to know the other people in the community.
“I just like connecting with people,” said Montanez. “People treat barbers like a therapist because we just listen to them. Any problems they have, they can just talk to us about it. We're just here to listen.”
Pulido and The Give Back go to different parts of the city to give out supplies and free haircuts at least once a week. The nonprofit has been giving back for over a year and has no plan to slow down.
“We don’t stop, man,” said Pulido. “We're The Give Back. As long as we find the places to go and help the people out, we're going to be out here.”
