Southampton: Hairdressers provide free haircuts for homeless

Jane Odam, owner of Elite Salon in Chandler’s Ford, is using her skills and scissors for good every month.

The 55-year-old has joined forces with national charity Haircuts 4 Homeless to cut homeless people’s hair at Patrick House in Southampton.

Jane Odam (right) with a client at her haircuts for the homeless event (Image: Jane Odam)

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Jane said: “I watched Stewart Roberts (founder of the charity) during lockdown and the work he was doing with Haircuts 4 Homeless, and I thought ‘we have got nothing like that in the Southampton area'.

“I contacted the charity and said I would really like to get involved.

“I went through every avenue and charity and shelter to find somewhere and I was pushed from pillar to post, but lucky for me my sister put me in contact with someone from The Society of St James.

“We held our first event in February, and I managed to recruit seven volunteers to cut hair at Patrick House.

“We did 22 haircuts in two hours.

“The volunteers come from high-end salons, one charges over £100 for a haircut, but she’s giving up her time for free.”

Jane Odam (third from the right) with fellow volunteers and charity founder Stewart Roberts (Image: Jane Odam)

For Jane, it’s about more than giving people a nice haircut.

She said: “I have been hairdressing for 32 years, and I probably get more back from doing these haircuts for the homeless than I do running a business.

“It’s the self-esteem that you give somebody who is on rock bottom. They really appreciate it.

“One woman said I gave her so much self-esteem after cutting her hair she applied for a flat and to go to college.

“We can throw money at them but when you do something like this, they really appreciate it. It is incredible.

“For them, it’s somebody on the outside coming in, and doing this makes a big, big difference.”