This barber cuts hair for kids with special needs. Parents call it 'life-changing.'
When 7-year-old Ellison Eubanks sat in the salon chair for a haircut, his mother wasn't sure whether they'd both be leaving in tears.
It wouldn't be the first time.
"He's always struggled with some sensory overload, as kids like him typically do," said Julie Eubanks. "Haircuts were one of those things that, honestly, my husband and I dreaded."
But that anxiety quickly faded when Vernon Jackson started entertaining as he cut. Jackson, who owns a barber shop in Cincinnati, Ohio, says it's "all hands on deck" to make sure the children in his chair keep a smile. Sometimes that means dancing. Other times, it means belting out a Taylor Swift song.
For Ellison, it was a playful game of "stop-and-go" with the razor that had the little boy in stitches.
Watch this 7-year-old giggle with glee in the video below while getting a trim.
"When I meet a child, I'm really meeting them where they are, and not where I want them to be," said Jackson.
Jackson sets aside blocks of time in his schedule to cut hair for kids with special needs, like Ellison, who has Down syndrome. The stylist, who has more than a decade of experience, says he earmarks specific windows so he can dedicate more time to each child. The cuts are free through community donations. The rewards, he says, are priceless.
"I've had parents bursting into tears, had grandparents getting emotional, fathers getting emotional," said Jackson, who's done more than 300 free cuts to date. "It always leaves me in awe."
Julie says her son can't wait for his next cut.
"As a mom of a child with special needs, there's so many obstacles that we face every day, and our kids have to face every day. And we're not really sure how they're going to go," said Julie.
"It's one less thing we need to worry about now, so it is kind of life-changing."
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