Chris McCoy, born and raised in Grand Rapids, felt a need to serve his community in the way he knew best — by providing free haircuts to folks in Heartside Park.
“We’re doing free haircuts for anyone in the community of all walks of life. No discrimination,” McCoy said.
In just two months, McCoy has cut over 100 heads of hair. Yet, he is not a licensed barber. He learned how to cut hair by diligently watching YouTube tutorials over the last year and a half.
McCoy began advertising free haircuts by first taking a home-made sign to Heartside Park that simply read, “Free Haircuts.” McCoy explained that within moments, there was a line of people waiting for a haircut. “I just took that as my sign of need, and I’ve just been doing it ever since,” McCoy said.
Elrico Brooks, after receiving his first haircut from McCoy, said that his work does much more than provide a clean cut. “People don’t have to charge something to be kind from your heart,” Brooks explained.
McCoy chose to set up his makeshift barber shop specifically in Heartside Park because of his desire to help the homeless. “It’s a lot of people that can’t even afford to get a haircut,” McCoy said. “So they just go without.”