FREE GENTS HAIRCUTS CHRISTMAS DAY
9am-12pm
IAN HENRYS BARBERS -COSHAM
Charity event in aid of mental health awareness and prevention of suicide in Men
On Christmas day morning I will be opening the Barber shop where I work offering FREE haircuts with the option of donating to charity [however small]. I’m wanting to do this to raise awareness of mental health issues for men . As a Barber I’m with men every day, many men confide in us, to them we are an outlet to let their feelings out and tell us things that they don’t feel they can tell their nearest and dearest. Concentrating on Christmas at the moment, not everyone likes Christmas. It’s one of those times that for many you feel that you should. According to The Samaritans they receive around 244,000**** calls during the Christmas period from people in the UK . They are there for anybody that feels they cannot cope. Some of our customers tell us they are lonely at Christmas, feel depressed or stressed at Christmas time. Some of our elderly customers say they will be alone and its heart breaking . some say they have lost a loved ones and christmas doesn’t mean anything to them anymore, we have to look out for them and make them aware that there is help out there. Loneliness at Christmas can be avoided. For men this can be doubly tough. According to The Samaritans survey 45% of men feel that others expect them to be happy at Christmas when they are not and men in the uk are 3 times more likely to take their own lives than women. Personally I feel there is still a stigma and is a very important subject that needs to be addressed and it’s not just a case of cheering up and getting on with life. The 2 charity’s I’d like to help and give awareness to are :-
· PAPYRUS - A charity that focuses on prevention of young suicide. https://www.papyrus-uk.org/
· THE SAMARITANS - A charity aimed at providing emotional support to anyone in emotional distress, struggling to cope, or at risk of suicide. http://www.samaritans.org/
As a Barber and working with the public everyday I am also very supportive of a group called THE LIONS BARBER COLLECTIVE. https://www.facebook.com/TheLionsBarberCollective/?fref=ts A group of Barbers from UK, Ireland & Holland that have got together to support Prevention for Suicide Awareness. They are embarking on a new initiative that they hope will combat male suicide.They are working alongside PAPYRUS. They aim to train barbers in mental health so they can listen, recognize, and advise their clients - many of whom open up to barbers when they feel they can't talk to friends or family. The group have only been together for about 4 months but are organising in the future training for barbers to spot the signs of clients who may need a little help offer a listening ear or point them in the right direction. We are not just Barbers, we offer hope to customers who may feel down, yet have nobody else they feel they can open up to. We are in a unique position where we spend a lot of time talking to our customers and being proffesionals we respect them, listen and they trust us. The majority of young men have not asked for help before commiting suicide. My aim for doing this is to raise awareness for men, young and old , that there is help and support and it starts with talking. Talking to organisation like THE SAMARITANS, PAPYRUS, and US BARBERS. On Christmas morning we are opening the shop up [IAN HENRYS BRBERS IN COSHAM] to anyone that would like to pop in for a haircut, a last minute trim as they left it too late to get it cut before Christmas , a tidy up or a bit of glitter put on their beard for festive merriment! The shop will not just be open for haircuts but also to anyone that would like to just pop in and say hello or for a little refreshment , anyone that would like a bit of company and not be on their own or for anyone that would just like to Donate to the charity’s. Thankyou and Merry Christmas
