Detroit — Local barbers, faith leaders and other community members in the city of Detroit came together Dec. 15 to offer a small but significant gift to their neighbors: free haircuts.

The location was the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue on Griswold Street, and the 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. “Grooming on Griswold” event was open to homeless individuals and low-income seniors.

Snacks — kosher ones inside the building, and non-kosher at a table outside — were also available for the clients, who arrived at the event in a steady flow.

Chairs and wash basins were provided for hair washes and shaves, and a few community members offered free hand massages as well.

“I appreciate it,” said “Alonzo,” a client receiving a haircut that morning. “I needed a haircut and (now) I’m able to get one. This is a very good thing they’re doing — it’s like a Christmas gift.”

The local organizers and sponsors included the Isaac Agree Downtown Synagogue; Urban Bean Company, where the event was planned; The Social Club Grooming Company; Our Lady of the Rosary Parish; St. Aloysius Parish; Sacred Heart Parish; Shelters of Love, a Detroit-based nonprofit; and the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Central Services.

Norbert Kidd, an Our Lady of the Rosary parishioner participating that day, told The Michigan Catholic that organizing the event was an “amazing adventure” and a “wonderful experience,” bringing people together “from all sorts of backgrounds.”

Auxiliary Bishop Donald F. Hanchon had even stopped by to say a short prayer with the organizers, he said.

Fellow parishioner Denise Hytower had said “sure” as soon as she learned of the event. She said the smiles on the clients’ faces showed how worthwhile it was.

Hytower said it was “unlike anything I’ve been to” before, adding that she was “really thankful for the barbers who came to do this for no pay.”

Another Rosary parishioner, Jean-Marie Allion, added that “finally, people of faith are not doing things in little corners (on their own) but are working together.”

Anna Kohn, director of the Downtown Synagogue, said “there is nothing more Jewish than providing dignity to those in need.”

Kohn had paused to speak with The Michigan Catholic amid the flurry of welcoming clients, calling the haircutting event “a blessing for us” and an “opportunity for the Jewish community to interface with the interfaith community.”

Kohn said it was a chance to give back to Detroit, where the Jewish community has been “rooted for almost 100 years.”

One client, “James,” agreed: “The rebirth of Detroit started with the great people of Detroit with their willingness to give back.”

Sebastian Jackson, founder of the Detroit-based Social Club Grooming Company and organizer of the haircutting event, said he had initiated the “Grooming on Griswold” idea with Josh Greenwood, owner of the Urban Bean Company just a few doors down from the synagogue, about six months ago. Jackson said he heard of barbers around the country hosting similar events, and wanted to bring it to Detroit.

“A haircut is an important part of feeling like yourself,” he said. “Everyone has a purpose,” he added, though many individuals, including the event’s clients, “are not treated like they have a purpose … a lot of people don’t know they have a purpose.”

“Spending 15-20 minutes to cut their hair, we show them they have a purpose,” he said.

Event co-organizer Alton James, regional coordinator for the Archdiocese of Detroit’s Department of Parish Life and Services, noted that “you can go anywhere for food, but a haircut is a very personal experience.”

He credited Anna Kohn and also Joe Kohn, director of public relations for the Archdiocese of Detroit — of no relation — for helping organize and promote the event: “Without Joe and Anna we wouldn’t have been able to pull this off.”

Sacred Heart parishioner Domeda McCauley, who worked with fellow parishioner Joanna Cohen in helping plan their parish’s participation, said the program was “a huge success, and I think it’s needed much more, and more often.”

“Spreading love is very important and many people feel desperate in their situations,” she said. “This is what we’re supposed to be doing.”