How to Get a Life-Changing Haircut — and Stay Safe on the Train Tracks at the Same Time
Miami Herald · By Tiana Headley · July 3, 2018
The Change Rover “Mobile Innovation Station” transformed into a “Mobile Barbershop” for the Save Our Sons Youth Summit at the Overtown Youth Center.
The young man in the barber chair was getting a haircut. If that seems just like another day in Miami, it wasn't. This wasn't your average barbershop either. It was in the BuzzBoxx: a mobile barbershop in the back of a see-through truck. By the time the barber Andrew Rhagnanan was finished giving the young man a haircut, the teen was like a different person. And we're not talking just hairstyle.
“When I gave him a haircut, his whole demeanor changed — he was smiling, he was more friendly,” Rhagnanan said. Rhagnanan also gave the young man and others at the Overtown Youth Center on June 29 a rundown on how to be safe around train tracks.
This event was part of Brightline and Talent4Change's partnership for BUZZitFORWARD, a project focused on giving underprivileged youth and the homeless haircuts and one-on-one mentorship. Those who attend a BuzzBoxx event this summer are given an overview on rail safety and sign a rail safety pledge. And they get to look good, too.
“Their confidence just skyrockets. When they come out, they're smiling and they want to show off their clean haircut,” said Antonio Marshall, the OYC training development specialist.
“From my perspective, I don't think there's enough people that actually speak to young kids to let them know that some of these bonehead decisions that they're making at a young age — at 14 or 15 years old — can adversely affect them for the rest of their life,” said Rhagnanan, the head barber and Regional Director for BUZZitFORWARD. “What I can do is talk to them while they're getting their haircut.”