By Jorge Garcia and Mike Blake
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) -On the sidewalk of Wilshire Boulevard bordering MacArthur Park in Los Angeles, barber Beraldo Gabaldon cuts the hair of the homeless for free to give them a fresh outlook.
Hailing from Albuquerque, New Mexico, the 35-year-old former barbershop owner came to California to escape 15 years of drug and alcohol addiction and start a new life after getting sober in February.
He has been cutting hair at the park for a month, up to four hours a day, donning
customers with a Los Angeles Lakers cape, wielding a shaver, scissors and brushes to wipe away hair.
Gabaldon sees this as a mission to redeem himself and give hope to others. "This is my challenge, this is what I want to fix," he said.
All his customers have addiction and mental health issues, so when Gabaldon tells them his background they relate to him immediately.
"You're more than a barber. You're a therapist. You can talk to your barber about anything. I can guide them to the resources I do know," he said.
"These are the first people I am going to help because I was in their shoes. They are not bad people. They are humans just like us. Maybe a haircut can give them that spark to change their whole life."
James, a young man with floppy hair, approached and sat down.
"What are we going to do for you today, boss?" Gabaldon asked and proceeded to shave the sides of James' head, which he liked and thanked Gabaldon for.
"They make it seem like these are bad people and they are not, they are definitely not," Gabaldon said.
Having relapsed several times, Gabaldon aims to be a mentor so that his customers do not just end up in jail or undergo rehabilitation and are left to fend for themselves after that.
Housing will help these people "find themselves again," Gabaldon said.
"This time I found my purpose and why I want to recover. It's for me and my family, so they can have a dad, a brother, have me here to provide, being an amazing father to my kids."
(Reporting by Jorge Garcia and Mike Blake; Writing by Mary Milliken; Editing by Richard Chang)
