The Barbershop

In April, 2022, we hosted the very first Barbershop, inviting those impacted by the justice system and those employed by these systems together for a roundtable discussion, in an effort to build relationships between police and the community and re-establish community trust.

Using innovative techniques and group exercises in a workshop format, these participants found unexpected shifts in their perspective and mind set towards one another and discovered a new lens through which to define public safety for themselves and for our community.

In 2022, we began partnering with The IF Project and Seattle Police Department (SPD) to design and deliver the Community portion of the Before the Badge program, using the template established by The Barbershop event. 

In early 2023, we introduced The Barbershop to new deputy recruits for the King County Sheriff's Office (KCSO), joining in their efforts to re-shape how police and community contribute to a shared understanding of public safety. We have delivered 10 events to KCSO in 12 months!

The group of community members we bring to The Barbershop experience is mindfully curated to represent historically “profiled” stereotypes, typically with lived experience, and with mind sets that are prepped and ready to give back. We enrich the group with experienced content and facilitation experts to introduce new ideas around understanding each other. This group of individuals is unique, specific, and intentional in its ability to shift perceptions.

The Barbershop currently has three components:

Barbershop Original: Designed for police department recruits and community members, this program fosters early relationships and mutual understanding.

Barbershop Youth: Targeting youth aged 13-25, community members, and community policing officers, this component emphasizes youth engagement and trust-building with law enforcement.

Barbershop Seasoned: Tailored for experienced police officers with 5-25 years of service, this program facilitates ongoing dialogue and adaptation to community needs.

“Bringing together views that are so different allowed me to see things in a new light….law enforcement are no different than the community they police, and vice versa - we have the same goals in mind.”

“The Barbershop reinforced to me that these conversations between law enforcement and the community are SO necessary. More of these could bring some true healing and understanding to both parties…”

“The scenarios we ran through were eye-opening…I realized how important context and communication can help a situation in a positive way, and the different values that an entire community looks for within public safety that I’ve never thought about before. Perspective is everything - this was so fruitful.”