Hundreds of young people have benefited from programmes run by Hair Together, which provides programmes mixing wellbeing activities with hairstyling and barbering, to support young people in Ballymun and surrounding areas.
It was founded by Eileen McHugh and she spoke about her own journey through adversity and that of Hair Together at the In Our Words conference in Athlone, which showcased the impact of grassroots community work through the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme (SICAP).
Education
She said that returning to education was a huge step for herself.
“The first step was college. I was a full blown heroin addict doing my Leaving Cert and I didn’t do too well. I went back to Ballsbridge Business College and then did Organisational Management in DCU. And all these bits were building confidence, slowly.”
She said that she became aware of the Back to Work Enterprise Allowance while involved with Innovate Communities in Ballymun, and she became aware of the supports that were available for things like Hair Together.
“The big support then for the last couple of years has been Inner City Enterprises. They give us hub space at a reasonable price and supports. I just have to call them up with whatever I need and I always need stuff because we’re growing and developing.”
Impact
It has helped a lot of young people who are having difficulties.
“We’ve had just under 300 young people go through our programme. We’ve had people get work experience, get jobs, the impact we’ve had is incredible. We work with young people, TYs, that are probably not turning up for school. We’ve ran programmes with Tusla, Extern, the Garda Youth Diversion, for young people that are struggling like I was when I was younger. We have a winning formula I suppose.”
The work it has been doing has been widely recognised.
• Young people training with Hair Together.
“Today we are multi award winning. This year we won the Image PWC Social Entrepreneur of the Year Award. We won global awards, we won the Kevin Murphy Icon Award, that’s hugely recognised in the hair world, I don’t know if any of you know it, it’s a big deal in hair on a global level. One that was very special was the Dublin City Council Social Enterprise Awards this year. That was really special to me, I get real emotional thinking about it. When your own city backs what you’re doing…” she said, struggling to hold back tears.
As she addressed 250 people at the ‘In Our Words’ SICAP showcase event in Athlone, in October, Hair Together was on the verge of taking a significant step forward, and in time she wants their intervention model to expand to different parts of Ireland, giving young people support across the country.
“We’ve just got the keys to our first premises in Ballymun. We’re ready to open the world’s first Training for Impact Salon and Academy. It’s the world’s first model like this. I found it really hard to get supports for social enterprise, but on our own we raised €125,000 through philanthropic donations and built a pipeline like that. We have just closed off the money and we have got the keys and we’re hoping to open soon,” she said.
In December, seeing the sign go up over their new premises she and the team were “all feeling emotional”.
“We knew this day was coming, but nothing prepares you for the moment,” she said.
• Hair Together’s new premises all but ready to open.
“This isn’t an idea anymore, its not a plan on a page, it’s our place. This is us, finally standing in the space we’ve been building towards for years. This creates four new jobs instantly and we have a little system going where we have three chairs for rental to support people who are like me when I started out as a sole trader and didn’t know where to go or what to do. We’ll be there to support them and the plan is in the next five years to have 20 more Hair Togethers around the country.”
Possibilities
She said her own example shows the potential that is within people, even when things don’t look very positive.
“I’m here today to prove that no matter how dark life gets , with the right supports and a bit of bravery and faith, you can build something powerful. Hair Together is about a second chance, belonging and showing the next generation that they matter. Our job is to smash limiting beliefs and to get our community dreaming big and to stand beside them when they make those dreams real. If I can come through addiction, homelessness and single motherhood to build this, imagine what’s possible for the young people that we serve.”
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