A FORMER rough sleeper has offered free haircuts to homeless people as a way to tackle the stigma of living on the streets.

Sylvester King, 30, knows what it is like to be without a place to call his own. At 18 he found himself without a roof over his head after leaving council care in London.

So, along with Justin Lawrence, he decided to give free cuts to eight people in needs at the Night Shelter on July 22 to boost their confidence.

And the three men from Route 8 Barbers, Orbital Centre will now donate 50p from all haircuts to help the charity provide accommodation for more homeless people.

Sylvester said: “A nice haircut makes you feel fresh when you go for a job interview. I have met a lot of homeless people over the years and some of them are just trying to find their way back.

“Not all homeless are associated with drugs and alcohol and if I can get that message across that will be good.”

He told the Adver: “I was once homeless, so I understand what it is like, I made my mistakes, but I was able to learn from it and pick myself up.”

He moved from London to Swindon in 2008 in order to stay away from crime.“I slept in a bush near the Gablecross Station until I was able to work,” he said. “When I got my job at Blue Arrow, I got a hotel room.

“Now I feel I am in a position to give back and help. I have the people and resources willing to give back, so I created a community of kind people who understand and will not judge others, but who are willing to give their time to help other people.

“I look at life in a way people might find strange. I want to live a life where I can say I tried, and I used all my talent to benefit others.”

Swindon Night Shelter provides meals, showers and a bed for the night to vulnerable people who live on the streets.

Manager Becky Davison said: “It’s an amazing blessing for us and our guests. Everyone can understand I’m sure how having your hair done not only improves your physical well-being, but also can help you feel better emotionally and mentally. To be able to be clean and dressed nicely with a smart haircut makes us all feel better.

“We’ve been hoping to find a hairdresser that would come to the Swindon Night Shelter and cut hair for our guests for some time and over the years it’s always been a real treat when a hairdresser comes.

“Our basic attempts with the clippers are often not great so the guests will be glad of Sylvester’s regular visits to us now.

“About five months ago Sylvester started to support us and then when he agreed to come and cut hair and partner with us we were hugely excited. We can’t thank him and the whole team at Route 8 barbers enough for enabling us to offer this service to our guests.”