It’s More Than a Haircut. Meet the Philly Barber Showing Up for People Experiencing Homelessness

When B. Jawaun Jones first walked onto Broad Street with his barbering tools in a backpack, he thought he might spend one day giving free haircuts to people experiencing homelessness.

He didn’t expect that day to be the one that would redirect his life.

Jones had already worked as a barber for about a decade, but at the time, he was selling suits and searching for something that felt more fulfilling. Offering haircuts felt like a simple way to use a skill he already had to give back.

What he found, however, was the more conversations he had while cutting hair, the more difficult it became to treat the work as a one-time project.

“I just thought, ‘This might be my calling,’” he says.

In 2017, he left his job and decided to devote his time, money and resources to what would become Haircut4Homeless.

More Than a Haircut

Jones still remembers the first person who sat in his chair: a man close to his own age named Braden Hope.

Hope was initially hesitant when Jones approached him. A barber carrying what amounted to a mobile shop in a backpack was not something he encountered before. Once Jones explained what he was offering, Hope accepted the haircut and began sharing his story.

That conversation showed Jones that the service he was providing extended far beyond the superficial.

“It’s not so much the haircut,” Jones says. “It’s more about listening.”

Many of the people he meets have been overlooked or judged on their appearance, he explains. Sitting in Jones’s chair gives them an opportunity to talk openly with someone willing to hear them.

Jones has since cut hair for both men and women experiencing homelessness, and he often notices the same transformation. Someone may sit down looking guarded or discouraged and once he’s done, they stand up smiling.

The haircut changes their appearance, but the conversation can change how they feel.

“They feel seen,” Jones says.

The people Jones meets have held jobs, built careers and experienced circumstances that may not be apparent to someone passing them on the sidewalk. Some have encountered financial hardship or made a decision that altered the course of their lives. For a few moments, a haircut can reconnect them with the person they were before their circumstances changed.

A Visible Place in the City

Today, Jones is widely associated with Broad and Walnut streets, where his chair and barbering setup are difficult to miss.

He did not initially set out to establish a regular location. During Haircut4Homeless’s early days, he moved between several parts of the city after concerns arose about where he was operating. One interaction with a police officer near Ninth and Market streets attracted media attention and eventually reached then-Mayor Jim Kenney, who publicly supported Jones’s work.

Jones later found himself walking along Broad Street when several people who recognized him began asking for haircuts. With too many people to comfortably serve on the sidewalk, he set up in a more visible area.

As drivers passed, honked and took notice, Jones realized the location could do more than provide space for his chair. It could also make homelessness harder to overlook.

He kept returning and became known by some as the “Broad Street barber.”

That visibility soon extended far beyond Philadelphia. A video featuring Jones’s first haircut with Braden Hope received more than 2.4 million views in about 18 hours. Messages poured in from people around the world, and Jones found himself navigating widespread attention only months after starting his mission.

Changing the Conversation Around Homelessness

Jones believes one of the most important things Philadelphians can do to help unhoused populations is to resist making assumptions about them based on their appearance or housing status.

He includes himself in that lesson. Before beginning Haircut4Homeless, he acknowledges that he may have also judged people without understanding circumstances.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover,” he says. “Take time to go and talk to somebody, not just give them a dollar, but hold a conversation.”

Jones notes he’s met dozens of unhoused people from all walks of life. Unemployment, mental health challenges, family circumstances and financial instability can all contribute to someone losing stable housing.

Listening to those stories has changed Jones, too. Everyday choices and comforts now carry greater meaning. He feels gratitude when he turns on the heat, gets into his car, chooses a meal or walks through his front door because he knows so many people cannot do those things.

He also understands how quickly a person’s situation can change.

“I could be one paycheck, one deal going wrong,” he says. “I could be out there as well.”

Building a Place for What Comes Next

Jones plans to keep cutting hair on Broad Street, maintaining the personal and grassroots presence that has defined Haircut4Homeless. But his long-term vision reaches beyond the barber chair.

Within five years, he hopes to create a shelter and resource center designed around the needs and experiences of people facing homelessness.

He imagines a safe place where people could receive a solid meal, access computers, complete job applications, reconnect with family and learn a trade. The center could also offer classrooms, recovery resources and a structured six-month program focused on helping participants regain stability and support themselves.

Jones describes the concept as something like a school where people could also stay overnight: a central place offering practical resources while treating every person with care and respect.

It is an ambitious goal, but Jones measures success differently than many people do.

“Success is not about how much money you make, but how many lives you impact,” he says.

Even when someone does not get to see the long-term results of helping another person, Jones believes the effort matters. A conversation, an act of care or a moment in a barber chair can plant a seed.

For the people who sit down on Broad Street, the visible result may be a fresh haircut. What Jones hopes they carry with them is something deeper—the knowledge that someone stopped, listened and saw them.

This article is part of The Caring Collective, presented by Independence Blue Cross, spotlighting the people, organizations, and everyday acts of kindness that help strengthen communities throughout Greater Philadelphia.