CUTTING HAIR, CREATING CONNECTIONS Short Back & Sidewalks is a free hair-cutting service for members of the community in need. They work alongside service providers across Australia, providing friendly and attentive hair-cutting experiences with some of Australia’s best hairdressers and barbers as their volunteers.
Short Back & Sidewalks currently operates in Western Australia, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Victoria. Their service goes beyond just giving free haircuts; they create meaningful connections through conversations with clients and create visibility for some of the most marginalised community members in Australia. Short Back & Sidewalks started in Perth, WA, in early 2015. The first haircuts took place in a car park behind a shopping arcade in Northbridge. It was a simple set up for a simple idea that has gone on to grow, help and inspire across Australia. Over time, they developed relationships with a number of service providers, and started delivering haircuts onsite at their premises. They have found that meeting their clients in safe, familiar spaces, and tying in with existing service providers, is the most effective way to engage. In 2017, they expanded their services to Sydney, working in a similar onsite delivery model alongside Orange Sky Laundry in Martin Place and Rough Edges in Darlinghurst. In 2018, they began delivering services to the Northern Territory, where they were invited to participate in the Garma Festival of Traditional Culture in North East Arnhem Land, providing free haircuts for festival attendees. And so, their new community engagement model was born. The following year they returned to Garma Festival and also began a new school holiday program with the Mutitjulu Community in the Northern Territory. In 2020, they were invited to give free haircuts to community at the One Day In Fremantle Festival, WA, and are set to expand their services into Melbourne, VIC, in collaboration with HoMie, later in the year. Short Back & Sidewalks have grown from a small local team of three volunteers when starting out, to a national team with over 200 volunteers and are always on the lookout for new volunteers and new partners.
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Hair Biz Year 15 Issue 5
