How 'haircut day' at Hartford middle school builds confidence and connections

When a student sits in the chair at the barbershop inside McDonough Middle School, they'll get a haircut, yes. But chances are, they will also come away with something else."As we're cutting their hair, they open up more, and then we become big brothers," said Phil Savvis, owner of The Shop, which provides the haircuts at school. The barbershop initiative is a partnership between The Shop, a Newington barbershop, and Catholic Charities, which funds the project at McDonough Middle School. Every three weeks, staff from The Shop come to the school and provide haircuts, life advice and sometimes more.