TAMPA, Fla. — A Hillsborough County barber has taken a special interest in providing free haircuts for the homeless.
Kevin Sosa started by doing the free cuts at his Unique Stylez Barbershop on 78th Street in Tampa.
Sosa cuts the hair of a homeless man named Tico on a regular basis. Tico lives in a rudimentary structure near the barbershop and does odd jobs in the neighborhood.
He’s like a mascot for the shop.
“Cause he helps out,” said Sosa while cutting Tico’s hair. “Like if you need anything around the house you say 'Hey Tico,'" (and) he’ll go. You feed him, give him a couple of dollars. He’ll work.”
Sosa said he believes it’s important for homeless men to look good.
"Of course, appearance is everything,” he said. “If I look at myself in the mirror and I look bad, I’m going to feel bad. If I look good, I feel good. I’m going to want to talk to people."
Sosa and other barbers from Unique Stylez regularly take their chairs and styling equipment to Ybor City to cut the hair of homeless people in a small parking lot. In one case, Sosa was cutting the hair of a man named Lamont and trimming his unruly beard.
“They are struggling,” Sosa said of the homeless people. “If you come and give them a haircut and they feel good for at least a week then I did my job.”
Another one of the barbers cutting hair in Ybor was Joel Ramos. He said he learned to serve as a child.
“My dad always taught me to help people man," said Ramos. "Always, always, always."
Sosa said it was satisfying to see how the physical transformation of good haircut makes people happy.
“I like the finishing touch," Sosa said. "When you are in the mirror, and I see their reaction. This is what I do it for. That’s the reaction I like to come out and see.”