One Child's Kindness Helped Restore a Veteran's Pride: "I feel human again"

Ty Hoffman wants to be a barber when he grows up, so when the 11-year-old met a homeless veteran in desperate need of a haircut, he offered his services and boosted the man’s self-esteem!

"Where have you boys been?” Molly Hoffman asked when her sons, Ty, 11, and Kash, 15, burst through the back door.

“At the new barber shop!” Ty told her. Ty had always been fussy about his hair. So when the 24k Barber Lounge opened a short walk from the boys’ Winter Park, Florida, home, he was eager to give it a try.

“I’m going to be a barber when I grow up,” Ty told his mom. He began visiting the shop regularly, peppering the barbers with questions.

Impressed by his interest, a barber named Ray gave Ty some old equipment to learn with.

When visiting the barber shop, Ty and Kash would stop at the gas station across the street for water and snacks, and they noticed a man living behind the station. One hot day, Ty asked him, “Can I get you a water?”

“Some water would be nice,” the man said, and Ty and Kash soon returned with bottles of water and chips. “His name’s Dave,” Ty told his mom when they got home. “He’s a veteran, and he only has one leg.”

Molly had once worked with the local homeless coalition, and she gathered some clean clothes and went with the boys to give them to Dave. She offered to find him a place in the shelter, but he shook his head. “I like it better outside,” Dave said.

Over the next several days, Molly gave her boys food, more clothes and a sleeping bag for Dave. And one day, noticing Dave’s unruly hair, Ty offered to give him a haircut. At first Dave declined, but a few days later, he told Ty, “This looks like a great day for a haircut.” Ty raced home for his barber tools. Ty’s dad, Jason, came with him and they stopped at the barber shop to tell Ray what he was going to do. “I’ll come too!” Ray said.

“Sit right here,” Ty told Dave, sweeping off a bit of curb for a makeshift barber chair. He draped his red barber cape over Dave, then placed a reassuring hand on the man’s shoulder.

“This is going to be good,” Ty said as he spritzed Dave’s hair with a water bottle and began snipping. “So, what do you think?” Ty asked when finished.

Dave stared into Ty’s mirror. “I haven’t looked this good in years,” he marveled. “I feel human again.” With his new clothes and haircut, Dave held his head high and proud.

Ty, who recently turned 13, is proud too. “I was glad Dave trusted me, and I had the skills to help him,” says Ty. “I love helping people.”

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