Haircuts With Hearts for the homeless

By Kathleen Kirkwood, BAY CITY NEWS SERVICE

PHOTOS BY ALLI WESEMAN/THE PIONEER
An event next weekend in Oakland will bring together several organizations to provide services to the homeless community, including free haircuts, organizers said.
The July 13 event, organized by Oakland nonprofit Sharon’s Wings of Love, will feature a pop-up hair salon at 711 71st Ave. across from the Coliseum BART station.
Rebecca Beardsley, founder and executive director of Haircuts With Heart, said her organization hopes to raise awareness about the situation faced by families in need.
“Many of them have to do without every day services — like haircuts — the rest of us take for granted because of their financial circumstances, and we want to address that in a very direct way,” she said.
Other organizations at the event will include: the Alameda County Food Bank, Dignity on Wheels, Rubicon, East Bay Dragons MC, 220 Motorcycle Club, Shiloh Church, Oakland Bible Church, B.O.S.S, Black Nurses Assoc.,
Osita Health Clinic, Veterans Services, the Salvation Army, King’s Boxing Gym, Albany Lions Club, Safety Net and more to be announced.
“Homelessness is the result of many factors, one being affordable housing, unemployment and low wages, and the list goes on,” said Sharon Williams, the founder of Sharon’s Wings of Love.