An Auckland barber shop passionate about giving back to its community has dedicated one day a week to cutting the hair of the city’s homeless.
Caleb Heke and his colleagues at Kirkwood's barbers in Mt Wellington have been approaching people on the streets for two years.
He gets to know them, and when it comes to grooming, he can help.
"I really feel for the people that are out there on the streets, and really I guess I just want to hear their stories; I want to hear where they're coming from," Heke said.
The gesture has been life-changing for one family in particular, who was reunited with their homeless son after discovering a video of him receiving a free cut.
Last week Zayn, who has been sleeping rough, went to get a trim.
A video of him was shared online, which eventually reached his family, who hadn’t seen or heard from him in more than five years.
His father travelled from Whangārei to meet the barber.
"He walked straight up to me and said, 'Caleb?' I said 'yeah', and then he just burst out into tears, and he said, 'you cut my son's hair'."
Heke helped reunite the pair.
"There were no words to describe how that felt. I don't know if it was sad or happy it was just overwhelming emotion," Heke said.
To him, it's a small gesture making a big difference to all those involved.
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