DENVER — A recently opened Denver barbershop is working to train and employ formerly incarcerated people through an apprenticeship program.
R&R Head Labs opened in February off of Colfax and York. Since then, they've already filled a few chairs with new staff, in some cases who were just released mere days before receiving an offer from the barbershop.
"You always have that fear of being judged and that fear of not being able to get an opportunity doing something to one day be successful because of your criminal history. So that is something that is always a concern for people like me," said James Canody, who was hired the day after getting released.
Canody came as a recommendation to CEO and Founder James Repenning, who is trying to create an in-reach hiring system where the team makes contact with inmates prior to their release to arrange employment afterwards. In Canody's case, he wrote a letter to Reppening, sharing what would make him the right fit for the job.
Repenning was previously the president of Floyd's 99 Barbershop.
"Early in my career, when I was early 20s, I was running a recycling company. I hired an operator named Angelo. I interviewed him on the first day. I loved him. My wife loved him, my dog loved him. Then the next day, I called to hire him. He said, 'Okay, thank you that’s great. I just think there is something you need to know about me before you hire me. I murdered my best friend when I was 18 and I have been in prison for the last 25 years," said Repenning. "From that point forward, I knew that you don’t discount someone that’s been incarcerated. They will do anything to prove how great they are."
Each person hired onto the team is required to have had experience cutting hair and have worked with a re-entry partner or been in a program to aid them in rehabilitation to highlight their commitment to bettering themselves and the community around them.
Canody, for instance, cut hair for three years in prison. The male prisons do not offer the chance to receive a license while behind bars, but the women's prisons do have a cosmetology license track.
Once a former inmate is hired by R&R Head Labs, they are paired up with a mentor and licensed stylist as part of the apprenticeship program. Deb Ramirez is the operations manager who oversees the program.
"Over 15 years ago, I was incarcerated and came out," said Ramirez. "Don’t let your felony be an excuse. You can do whatever you want to do, if you put your mind to it. It’s not about what’s in the past. It’s looking forward. There’s a reason the rearview mirror is small and that’s because that’s behind you."
Ramirez received her cosmetology license while behind bars. Within two years, she owned her own home, bought a car and feels that her life now is a testament to show that she isn't the "exception."
"I feel like people need to be given a chance, a hope, a vision," said Ramirez. "I think that if we can continue to give that to people and let them know it can be done and be the example. That’s the biggest part and show people that it can be done."
Canody hopes that in the next year, he receives his license. He said after three times in prison, he's committed to staying out this time due to the "purpose" and "opportunity" he has found this time around.
"I believe in us being able to right our wrongs," said Canody. "Obviously I get why society feels a certain way about us, but there is another way."
He is using his chair to begin the conversations about his past and hopefully, change people's perspectives along the way about people who were formerly in prison.
"It is extremely important that how you approach that conversation to help them understand that, 'Hey, it’s okay. It’s things that have happened. You know, there are things that happen to everybody,'" said Canody. "This is an opportunity for them to see a little bit differently."
More reporting by Angeline McCall:
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