Not everyone with who experiences trauma is willing to seek help.
For some, it’s embarrassing. Others don’t feel like they have anyone to talk to or know where to begin. A local barber is doing his part to change that.
“There’s a lot going on in the world,” said Jermane Robinson, who owns Precision Cuts Barbershop at 305 Mulberry St., in downtown Rockford.
And by a lot, Robinson means he’s had clients from all walks of life open up to him about real hardships while he’s cut their hair. Whether it’s physical and sexual abuse or mental health struggles, he’s discussed it all in the confines of his shop.
“I’ve had all sorts of deep conversations with people,” Robinson said. “There was one guy who was in a dark place in his life and came back like a week later and said, ‘I wanted to kill myself. And I don’t know what I would have done if I hadn’t talked to you.”
The Barbershop Project
Robinson is one of several Rockford barbers and beauticians who are working together to de-stigmatize mental health and domestic violence through a new program called the Barbershop Project.