Barber gives free haircuts at downtown Hamilton park to those in need. He's paid 'in conversations'
Nolen Greenspan rubs his hand along his five o'clock shadow as he waits his turn in the barber chair.
"This is not me," he says of the stubble. "I don't like it at all."
He's among half a dozen men lined up for Collin Al‐ fred's free services in Hamil‐ ton's bustling, down‐ town Gore Park — an unlikely place for a beard shave or hair trim, but a "great opportu‐ nity" all the same, Greenspan says.
"I do need it for my confi‐ dence," says the 46-year-old Hamilton resident who is on a fixed income.
Alfred, 28, has been offer‐ ing up his barber skills to peo‐ ple in need for over a year, as part of his community out‐ reach organization, Beating the Stereotypes.
He estimates he's cut the hair of more than 50 people in the park on Saturdays. The outdoor setting hasn't stopped him from forming "intimate bonds" with clients, who open up about their lives, struggles and faith.
"It's like a barber shop — we sit around and have con‐ versations about everything," Alfred said. "It's really nice to have someone who went through something really hard to trust a guy with clip‐ pers and blades.
"How I get paid is in con‐ versations."
Chris Dorman is a regular client experiencing homeless‐ ness. He nicknamed the set up — a chair, barber cape and small table with Alfred's bar‐ ber tools — as the "chop shop," which has stuck.
He's come back because it's free and Alfred has "never messed it up," he said.
"I classify him as family," Dorman said.
Rob Ritchie wasn't far be‐ hind to have his head shaved. He said he receives social as‐ sistance and can't afford a de‐ cent haircut so he goes to Al‐ fred instead.
Justin Wilde, who was due to get his beard lined up, does the same.
"I feel good, fresh," Wilde said.
Service inspired by U.S. organization
For years, Alfred said he had been thinking about how to give back to those who need a confidence boost and connection free of judgment.
He decided to focus on overcoming stereotypes after his own experiences growing up in the Greater Toronto Area, where he said he's been racially profiled by police.
"I wanted to do something where I beat the stereotypes as well," he said.
Alfred said he saw the power of a good haircut when he visited his friend Joshua Santiago in Philadelphia last year. Santiago founded Em‐ powering Cuts, a non-profit organization offering the same services in the U.S. as Al‐ fred is now.
Then over Thanksgiving dinner in 2022, Alfred and some friends decided to jump in.
They arrived at Philpott Memorial Church on York Boulevard in Hamilton with 20 sandwiches and basic equipment.
"We gave out two haircuts and that's how it started," Al‐ fred said.
Now he's at Gore Park close to every Saturday, often with his friend Shay Cooper doing outreach. Cooper said the initiative has been "spiri‐ tually led" and is based in a belief of serving the commu‐ nity.
"It's really inspiring to see what he has done and being along for this journey," Cooper said.
Alfred wants to scale up his work by creating a mobile barbershop truck that he'll use to travel between Toron‐ to and Hamilton, as well as to the U.S., offering free haircuts to anyone in need he meets along the way.