Philadelphia barber program aims to empower young people, deter gun violence
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- A program that empowers young barbers to find their voices is getting a major boost from the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office.
P. Michael Boone's Junior Barber Academy is giving students a pair of clippers and a lot of confidence.
Inside the barber academy in Manayunk, Boone is using a pair of clippers to help empower the next generation.
"One thing about barbers is, we got a lot of respect in the community," Boone said.
Boone has been cutting hair for more than 30 years. Growing up in North Philly, he knows first-hand how easy it is for young people to go down the wrong path.
"You know, I was talking to this kid and he was locked up and I was like, 'What do you want to do in life?' He was like, 'Man, I want to do nothing but sell drugs.' And I was like, 'Would you try barbering?' He said: 'You know what, that's the one thing I would try because my barber, I have a lot of respect for him,'" Boone said.
The heart of his program is teaching barbering to instill confidence in his students to reach for the stars.
"We talk to them about mindset," Boone said. "We talk to them about entrepreneurship. We just try to mentor them and make sure they stay out of the way of gun violence out there."
Now, the academy is receiving a $25,000 micro-grant from the Philadelphia DA's Office Violence Prevention Grant Program.
This summer, the office has given out $1.2 million in micro-grants to organizations like Boone's.
"I think this organization is a beautiful example of a nonprofit that is trying to lift up young people and push back on crime," Krasner said.
Boone said the money goes to purchasing supplies like clippers and other tools for students to use and keep after completing the program.
"It means everything for my daughter to be able to wake up and be literally driven to be in this program," Ashley Hughes, a mother, said.
Hughes' 12-year-old daughter, Hevin, is one of Boone's students.
"This program is showing her that we are going to give you the tools but only you can give you the actual skill, the ability to want to learn it," Hughes said. "She's incorporating that confidence into every aspect of life."
Boone has built that same confidence in his own son, Haalim. He's taking his barbering license exam this week.
"My son now gets a chance to have a life made, and I always tell him you are 10 times better than me as a barber and you will continue to be better," Boone said.
"It's like hereditary," Haalim Boone said. "I just can't not give what I got. It's a gift that is supposed to be shared."