This program equips barbers and hair stylists—trusted community leaders and everyday confidants—with the tools of trauma-informed peer support. Rooted in the understanding that barbershops and salons are natural gathering spaces where people share their stories, the training prepares barbers and stylists to recognize the impact of trauma, bias, and social stressors, and to respond with empathy, cultural humility, and respect for autonomy while in the studio.

Participants learn how to:

• Create supportive environments where conversations about mental health, racism, substance use, and community stressors can unfold safely.
• Use trauma-informed communication strategies that honor worldview and identity.
• Recognize when someone may need additional support and connect them to least-restrictive community resources.
• Build collective resilience by fostering trust and belonging in their shops.

By centering barbers and stylists as frontline connectors, this program strengthens community networks of care, increases representation of BIPOC voices in mental health and recovery spaces, and expands access to healing supports outside traditional systems..

For more information or an application on TIBS classes, please email cbassett@kivacenters.org.