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Barber shop, community organization team up to offer 't(hair)apy' on Indy's east side

The free haircuts happen every Tuesday from 7 to 11 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS — While some took to the basketball court, others headed for the barber's chair.

That's what 18-year-old Dominic Crockett decided to do on his Tuesday night.

"I came up here, had some good talks and developed new relationships with people," Crockett said

And that's why Pivot Reengagement Center and Mended Arrows decided to partner up. 

Jon Johnson, director for the Pivot Reengagement Center, said anyone between the ages of 16 and 24 can come to the Boys and Girls Club at 38th Street and Post Road to shoot some hoops, get a free cut and get off whatever is on your chest.

"You see a lot of crime that happens, 19-, 21-, 22- and 23-year-olds are all running it together, so that age group is really the pivotal age group of, really, what direction do you want to go?" Johnson said. "Depending on where you're living, where you're being raised at, what school you're going to, that's pivotal. I mean, you have a lot of 24-year-olds who are sitting at home and not doing much of anything, so that gives them an opportunity to do reckless things."

Adrian Burney, executive director and founder of Mended Arrows, offers free cuts on Tuesdays, something he's termed as "t(hair)apy."

"I may not be able to save everybody, but I could at least plant some seeds of hope and vision, one haircut at a time, and hopefully, that young man or that young woman took something from what I said, they can go off and do something greater than what I'm doing," Burney said.

Burney said on Wednesdays, he mentors those wanting to become barbers. For 17-year-old James Clark, he said if the NFL doesn't work out, maybe being a barber will.

"I keep getting these, like ... God keeps throwing opportunities for me to, like, find a different path towards my career and different plans to go to," Clark said.

These free t(hair)apy cuts happen every Tuesday from 7 to 11 p.m.

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