- August 27, 2021
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Barber Juan Manuel Perez gives a haircut to local music producer Amahd Ali at Stamford Barbershop on August 11. Stamford Barbershop hosted a kickoff event last weekend for the city’s “barbershop initiative” program to start more informed conversations about the COVID vaccines between stylists, barbers, and their clients.
Barber Wilson Castro gives a haircut to Fairfield’s Mauro Delgado at Stamford Barbershop in Stamford, Conn. Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Stamford Barbershop hosted a kickoff event last weekend for the city’s “barbershop initiative” program to start more informed conversations about the COVID vaccines between stylists, barbers, and their clients.
Barber Kevin Oliver gives a haircut to Stamford’s Kevin Curtis at Stamford Barbershop in Stamford. Stamford Barbershop hosted a kickoff event last weekend for the city’s “barbershop initiative” program to start more informed conversations about the COVID vaccines between stylists, barbers, and their clients.
Stamford Barbershop in Stamford, Conn., photographed on Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Stamford Barbershop hosted a kickoff event last weekend for the city’s “barbershop initiative” program to start more informed conversations about the COVID vaccines between stylists, barbers, and their clients.
Barber Wilson Castro gives a haircut to Fairfield’s Mauro Delgado at Stamford Barbershop in Stamford, Conn. Wednesday, Aug. 11, 2021. Stamford Barbershop hosted a kickoff event last weekend for the city’s “barbershop initiative” program to start more informed conversations about the COVID vaccines between stylists, barbers, and their clients.
Barber Juan Manuel Perez gives a haircut to local music producer Amahd Ali at Stamford Barbershop in Stamford.
STAMFORD — It’s just past 3 p.m. at Stamford Barbershop, and the entire store is erupting with sound.
In the back of the main room, a flat-screen TV plays a soccer game: Chelsea versus Villareal. The Univision announcer’s chatter competes with the sound of clippers, of sweeping, of air from a hose pushing hair trimmings onto the floor.
Villareal scores a goal late in the game, and immediately, the announcer breaks into an elated, iconic and incredibly long yell. Every head in the shop pivots to the television.
Even amid the chaos and on-screen celebration, the barbers remain laser-focused. There’s nothing worse than a bad haircut, after all.
Barber Juan Manuel Perez works with steady hands on his client’s hairline. He swivels Amahd Ali toward the mirror. Ali nods slightly. Then, Perez pivots back to work.
In the eyes of a new initiative backed by some of the city’s most well-known healthcare providers, using the quiet trust between hair stylist and client is the way to vaccinate a new wave of residents.
The city Department of Health, Family Centers, Community Health Center and Stamford Health this month began attempting to “Cut Out COVID” by partnering with barbershops and salons to answer questions about the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage people to schedule an appointment for a vaccination.
“Most of us have had the same stylist for years,” said Dennis Torres, Chief Health Officer for Family Centers. “My barber knows personal information about me. He asks me about my mother. He asks me about my kids and vice versa. And the same thing (goes) with most people in the community.”
Cut Out COVID takes after a national effort organized by the University of Maryland and supported by the Biden Administration called Shots at the Shops. Along with a handful of healthcare-focused groups and the Black haircare company Shea Moisture, the college’s Center for Health Equity started training barbers and stylists to talk to “vaccine-hesitant” clients about COVID-19. It then helped them schedule vaccination events at their shops.
If the 1,000 participating shops meet all the qualifications the University of Maryland has in place, they’ll each get a $1,000 grant from Unilever-owned SheaMoisture.
Without the well-padded coffers of a multinational company to pull from, Stamford’s barbershop program chose a more targeted approach for its adaptation.
With help from the city’s Community Health Workers, Stamford’s participating shops must dive into UMD’s COVID training program. Barbers and stylists learned about COVID-19 basics, how to engage their customers in conversations on the benefits of the COVID-19 vaccine and how to turn those interactions into vaccination appointments.
Funding for the program comes from the Vaccine Equity Partnerships through grants from the state, federal government and the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation.
Though Stamford, CHC and Family Centers did hold a vaccine clinic with Stamford Barbershop to kick off the new partnership, clinics aren’t the main priority.
“The city, as you’ve seen, has neighborhood clinics on (the) East Side, on the West Side, but really the emphasis of the barbershop initiative is on that trust of community leaders providing that public education, that ongoing conversation,” said Jennifer Smith, who oversees Family Centers’ community health workers.
A lot of the work for the 20 shops participating thus far involves fielding logistical questions for clients sitting in the chair: Do I need my ID to get the vaccine? What are the short-term side effects? Where is the nearest clinic?
The questions have been answered in the public eye time and time again since vaccines became widely available for all Americans. But the project puts its faith in spreading its message to unvaccinated people through the bond between customer and stylist.
The approach to reach vaccine-hesitant residents through local community leaders is nothing new for Stamford. The Department of Health in months past held vaccine clinics at church parking lots and with local social service organizations. But the target demographic is slightly different this time, and so is the mission, organizers of the new effort said.
Torres said he thinks the effort could have the most sway among young men, who might come back to the barber twice in a month. Through repeated contacts and strong community ties, DPH and its partners want to move these young men along “the spectrum of vaccine hesitancy,” if not immediately convince them to get the shot, he said.
“Of course, we want everyone on the spot to say ‘Yes, I’m going to get vaccinated today at this clinic,’” said Smith. “But we also recognize that this is still a process for folks, and we want to really empower them with the information and the comfort level to make that choice, ideally as soon as possible.”
So far, about 73 percent of all city residents had received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine as of Aug. 12, though vaccine uptake varies significantly across age groups and neighborhoods.
The city has steadily increased vaccination rates in some of its more socially vulnerable pockets in the past several months, namely those that line Interstate 95.
All those neighborhoods — the West Side, East Side, South End and Waterside — were all clocking vaccination rates above 70 percent as of late July.
But officials say there’s still more work to be done.
While large swaths of the over 45 years population are fully vaccinated, rates begin to fall off among younger people. State data shows only 59 percent of people between 18 and 24 have received both shots, along with 58 percent of children 12 to 17, as of Aug. 12.
Through centering honest conversations, Family Centers hopes to see 80 percent of city residents vaccinated at the outset of the project, Smith said.
“Human interactions: That is what really helps to break down barriers and to put people at ease and get their questions answered so they can feel empowered and confident in making the choice to go get vaccinated,” Smith said.
And through the program, Stamford residents will be getting those questions answered one haircut at a time.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation.
veronica.delvalle@hearstmediact.com
Verónica Del Valle is a reporter covering growth and development for the Stamford Advocate and economic mobility for Hearst Connecticut Media Group. Verónica graduated in 2020 from American University, where she earned both her bachelors and masters degrees. Her work has appeared in NPR and The Washington Post.