This haircut could change your life. It will definitely change your barber’s.
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DENVER — On the same day that James Canody walked out of prison, he had a job doing something he loved: helping people transform into the person they want to be.
The place that hired Canody has a similar mission.
R&R Head Labs, a Denver-based barbershop that employs formerly incarcerated people, tackles one of the most difficult challenges for people leaving prison — finding and maintaining employment.
“It's not like we're saying that people shouldn't be punished,” said Deborah Ramirez, operations manager at R&R Head Labs. “We're just saying that people deserve second chances. We're about showing the community that this is a second chance program and that these [people] will be successful.”
A four-year study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics found that 60% of the formerly incarcerated participants were without work at any given time.
Ramirez herself spent five years at Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, where she learned to cut hair. After her release in 2009, she pursued a career as a barber, eventually becoming a district leader for Floyd’s 99 Barbershop, a national chain founded in Denver.
James Repenning, former president of Floyd’s 99 Barbershop, founded R&R Head Labs last year and brought Ramirez on as operations manager. The shop opened in February and Canody started working there as a barber that same month.
Canody interviewed for the position while still in prison.
He heard about R&R Head Labs through a friend he had been incarcerated with, who now sits on the shop’s advisory board.
The shop has two advocates who go into prisons to let incarcerated people know that they’re hiring. Applicants write letters or their caseworkers make phone calls to Ramirez expressing their interest, and she sets up an interview.
Ramirez said she requires new hires to have a support system when they get released, such as a non-profit providing re-entry support.
The job and the shop itself has been a source of support during his transition from prison, said Canody.
“Without that warm welcome from both sides of things — from the people who work here and the people that are in the community — then my transition would have been a little bit more rough,” Canody said.
“Just being able to explain my story and explain the things that I've been through, [and] people coming in here knowing what we stand for and what we are about — that's been really, really helpful,” he said.
The shop’s mission is no secret to anyone who books an appointment or walks in. Customers know that the person cutting their hair has been incarcerated — and that’s the point.
“We love to tell people what we're about as soon as they come in,” Ramirez said. “I love it when they come in with questions [about incarceration.]”
“It's important for people to know that justice-impacted people are human,” she said.
Canody said sometimes people ask him what he was incarcerated for. He’s open about sharing it with them, but he’s still worried they might judge him.
“It's a little bit like, I hope this isn't the last time I see this person again because of what I've done,” Canody said. “But I just try to be authentic with it. We're trying to build that relationship with the community to show them that we can be trusted and that we're trying to do things better.”
For the most part, Canody said the conversation between him and the person in his chair doesn’t linger long on the topic of his incarceration.
“Neither one of us are really thinking about that as much because the vibe is right,” Canody said. “Everything feels like it's just two people having a conversation. That means a lot to me.”
Before getting his hair cut at R&R Head Labs, Scot Livingston didn’t personally know anyone who had been formerly incarcerated. Part of his interest in trying out the shop was because of its unique mission.
After his first appointment at the shop, Livingston decided to come back again with his now-wife, then-fiancée, on the morning of their wedding day. They both made appointments to get their hair cut before the ceremony.
“It’s a good way to support causes we believe in and also get a good haircut at the same time,” Livingston said. “We've all been around the block, and we definitely could use a second chance on stuff.”
The shop currently has seven barbers, with the goal of eventually having a dozen on staff. Ramirez said there are more than 20 incarcerated people she’s waiting to hire, so she has enough barbers to staff a second location. Expansion is part of the plan.
“[The shop] is the beginning of something really big,” Canody said. “It's a place where people can relate. It's a place where you can be yourself. And it's a place to start for bigger things to come later on down the road.”