Last week, GLIDE celebrated a joyful and hopeful milestone for the Tenderloin: the ribbon cutting of The Shop, a groundbreaking new program that pairs free haircuts with access to health services and community support.
The Shop is the first program of its kind in the country to combine barbershop services with health resources and case management. Inspired by the historic role of barbershops in Black communities as places of community and connection, The Shop will transform a familiar cultural space into a doorway to healing.
Community care reduces inequity in health results
Dr. Gina Fromer, GLIDE’s President and CEO, opened the ribbon cutting by saying, “Everyone will be welcome here at GLIDE and The Shop. The Shop will be a place and space where you can go to feel heard– where people will say ‘How are you doing?’ and really mean it.”
The program was created in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health, which recognized the need for innovative approaches to closing health equity gaps in the city. Daniel Tsai, the Director of the San Francisco Department of Public Health, shared the city’s broader vision for the work: “One of our goals is for SF to be the healthiest place on earth for ALL it’s people.”
San Francisco currently has high average health outcomes, but severe inequity. Those inequities are especially stark when it comes to overdose deaths. Older Black men represent 12% of overdose deaths in the city, even though they make up less than 1% of the population. These outcomes are not accidents; they reflect decades of displacement, discrimination, and unequal access to care.
The Shop was built specifically to address these realities with culturally responsive care. Jason Finau, GLIDE’s Senior Director of Health and Clinical Services, said it well: “Today isn’t just about opening a barbershop, it’s about opening doors to dignity, healing, and connection. Here at GLIDE health is never just clinical: it’s about community.” Supervisor Bilal Mahmood expressed support for the project, saying, “GLIDE to me has always been a community hub, a concierge service for the well being of the Tenderloin.”
Culturally responsive intervention
Minister Jabari Jackson spoke directly to the deeper meaning of the moment, addressing both the audience gathered for the event and the unhoused neighbors nearby. “What I say is for the people across the street, and not for the people under this tent for this ribbon cutting,” he declared. “We all know what it feels like to fail and we all know what it feels like to fight our way back up. We are street soldiers. What The Shop represents is a sanctuary for us.”
The ribbon-cutting included a visit from longtime GLIDE supporter Danny Glover, who helped bring energy and excitement to the opening by getting a haircut during the ceremony.
Throughout the afternoon, speakers returned again and again to the same idea: that healing begins with human connection. A haircut might seem simple, but the conversations that happen in the barber’s chair can open the door to something much bigger — trust, support, and a path toward stability.
Opening The Shop is about building a place where people feel welcomed, seen, and valued. In a neighborhood that has faced decades of inequity and displacement, The Shop may turn the tide towards more equal healthcare outcomes.
