Haircuts, Hangouts and Health Screenings
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Like many establishments of its kind, Lee’s Barbershop offers customers more than a cut and a shave. They can get news on the NFL, happenings in the community, advice on women, rumors about the mayor and updates on local artists. And like a growing number of black barbershops, Lee’s participates in potentially, life-saving health initiatives for its customers.
“The shop is definitely used as an outreach station to make the black community aware of services that will save their life,” says Arthur Lee, who has owned the establishment in Washington, D.C., for nearly 25 years. “Non-profits do things like high-blood pressure screening and HIV testing in front of the shop. We’ve been part of a condom program since about 2005. People who don’t even get their hair cut will come by and get (condoms)…because they’re free.”
Dr. Bill Releford knows that many black men frequent the barbershop way more than a doctor’s office. So he founded the Black Barbershop Health Outreach Program in 2007, starting with his own barber in his own Los Angeles community. Now the program has gone national through a 50-city tour, and more than 25,000 men have been screened for diabetes and high blood pressure in more than 400 barbershops. Releford said his goal is to screen 500,000 men by 2012.
