Billy’s Barbershop: Fight Against Lowell Drug Epidemic

Lina Woronko

Along the sidewalk of Andover Street, in the town of Lowell, MA, or otherwise known as “Mill City,” a small, brick building is almost hidden behind a much larger one. Next to it is a BP gas station, and the surrounding area is lined with apartments and metal gates. An intersection is at the corner of the gas station, where a rush of cars are in constant stop-and-go motion. Plant life is at a minimum, only the small sprouts peeking through the cracks in the cement wishing to be touched by the sun.

It’s a mid-winter afternoon, and the sky is cloudy with a surrounding fading blue. Dogs bark, cars honk, and people go about their daily lives: smoking, carrying groceries, or yelling to one another from opposite ends of the street. Amidst this cacophony of traffic, pavement, and humdrum is Billy’s Barbershop, which offers much more than just shampoos and straight razors.

The building itself is decorated with a huge, long banner draped against the storefront’s brick wall facing the oncoming traffic of Andover Street. In the windows are barber’s poles and an LED neon light that states: OPEN, encouraging anyone in the area to take a peek inside.

The storefront of Billy’s Barbershop displays barbers’ poles, as most barbershops do, but this shop gets its idea of display from a tradition in the Middle Ages. While these displays now represent places where someone can walk in for a fresh cut, they were historically used to indicate other services, such as bloodletting. As early as the 5th century, the barber’s pole signified a place where medical practitioners offered a wide-range of services. These barbers provided their community with assistance and a safe place to go to when people were in need. The red and white stripes represented blood and bandages, while the blue is believed to have stood for patriotism. Today, Billy’s Barbershop introduces a more modern representation of the barber’s pole, and it’s not just suggesting a new haircut.

As you first walk in, a long, black couch is reaching out to you, begging for you to recline and relax while you wait. The wide-screen TV is propped up at the perfect angle, but is kept at a low volume, so you are able to speak to those near you. The snugness of the shop encourages customers to connect with those around them and have friendly exchanges with their barber as well, which is crucial considering the owner, Billy Cabrera, serves as a support system for those who are transitioning out of incarceration and for those who are battling addiction.

Billy was once in the shoes of most of his customers who come into the center. After years of being addicted to heroin, Billy decided he needed to change his life. In 2008, he began his path to recovery and has been clean ever since. Now, Billy is determined to help those who want to do better too. He works alongside close friends, as well as his son, Willie Cabrera, which makes his job much more gratifying and special. His daughter, Angelina Cabrera, attends the Lowell Vocational Technical High School for cosmetology and is an aspiring stylist/barber. Following in her father’s footsteps, she also works at the shop part-time. Billy is kind and understanding, both as a barber and a father. For years, Billy had worked at Masterpiece Hair Studio on Lakeview Avenue in Lowell before opening his own shop in 2014. His passion for barbering never stopped growing and he worked years towards his goal in pursuing his own shop, and he was finally able to make that dream come true. While looking for the perfect place for his shop, Billy always considered an extra room for which he would welcome in his community with stories and advice. In the back room of his shop, he owns what is known as the Resource & Reclamation Center. Here, you will always find food, drinks, information on drugs and alcohol, and someone ready to listen and help.

In today’s economy, it is difficult to find a job, but finding one with a criminal record can be nearly impossible. In 2008,  39% of felons in Massachusetts were reconvicted within three years of release, and in 2011, the average national recidivism rate was almost 44% . Ex-inmates who sold drugs were likely to end up selling again, because they were unable to find a job and earn money legally. This is why Billy’s Resource & Reclamation Center is so important, as their mission statement says: “our strength is the experience of the many volunteers who work together with us and each other providing a vital support network for those endangered individuals who are at risk of relapse before they are fully recovered and out of the danger zone… All the community health structured and state-sponsored programs are a necessary part of this. We are the missing link.” By providing this opportunity for improvement and self-reclamation, the Resource & Reclamation Center is helping pave the way for those seeking a fresh start.

I was able to spend a few minutes talking to Billy and listen to some of his input on the subject of incarceration and the purpose behind the Reclamation Center. He told me that there are often steps that lead to prison. Billy claims that this consequence starts with bad decisions that are most commonly a result from childhood trauma. “As these children grow up, they turn to drugs for relief and it becomes a bonding attachment,” says Billy. Once this bond is formed, the person will learn to do absolutely anything in order to maintain this bond in which they feel accepted and at ease. These bad decisions, such as stealing and scamming, are repeated and become a necessity to achieve that desired bond.

According to psychoanalyst, Karen Horney, “all of us need love badly, so we are constantly afraid that important people (like our parents when we are very young) will not like us… A person who does not receive love is one who is always anxious and afraid.” During this time period, if a child does not feel as if they are getting enough support or love by their parents, they will look for it somewhere or in someone else. There is a great percentage of children who find this in their friends, other family members, sports, and other positive influences. However, according to a study by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, “65% of teens use drugs to ‘feel better about themselves.’” This indicates that teens who have low self-esteem are more likely to get hooked on drugs, because they feel accepted in the crowds that offer them.

As this cycle of bad decisions repeats itself, the person eventually gets arrested and faces consequences as well as withdrawal. So why are recidivism rates so high if ex-inmates should have already “learned their lesson”? The answer is discouragement and discrimination. When these inmates leave prison, they must find a job. However, a major problem with this is the application process. The Felony Checkbox is a box that must be checked if the applicant has ever been convicted of a crime. The Libertarian News claims that only “forty percent of employers would give applicants with criminal records a chance, indicating that sixty percent of the employers and agencies would not consider an ex-offender's application.” Because of this, a movement was started in 2004 to encourage employers to pick their candidates out of consideration of their job qualifications and skills rather than their past. The campaign is called Ban-the-Box  and can be visited at bantheboxcampaign.org, where a person can pledge to “always welcome formerly incarcerated peoples into my community and to support changes in policies that discriminate against the formerly incarcerated.” Movements like this, are the solution to recidivism. In the Reclamation Center, Billy has a list of employers who will give convicted felons jobs: Best Western, Sprint, Walgreens, Dunkin Donuts, Ace Hardware, and Chase Bank are only a few of the more well-known employers on the Cori Friendly Employer List.
Billy also works with the re-entry team at the Middlesex House of Correction in Billerica. When men leave the prison and re-enter society, he invites them to the shop for a free haircut and offers his stories and information on staying clean and finding a job. This Resource & Reclamation Center is a non-profit organization that serves as a support system for those who need someone to speak with or confide in, and Billy and his co-workers are always there to help. Billy says that “the purpose of the Reclamation Center is to help one begin their journey by bonding to positive influences, such as the people in their community rather than negative impacts such as drugs.” Small gestures of generosity and understanding can go a long way.

The sky may be faded in color and the street may be filled with the sounds of dogs, cars, and people, but Billy’s Barbershop is the sun reaching out to the small sprouts peeking through the cracks in the sidewalk. It is the source of light for many recovering addicts and for those transitioning out of confinement. Billy wishes to push past the dark skies and open up a brighter future for those who wish to be helped.

As I stepped outside of Billy’s Barbershop, I saw Andover Street in a whole new perspective. The sun was no longer stuck behind a dark cloud and its light shined down along the sidewalk, reaching the small sprouts in the cracks. The people yelling to each other were laughing and smiling, the dog was barking excitedly to his owner returning home, and the cars honked at the employees of Billy’s Barbershop as a way of saying hello. The whole purpose of the barbershop is to welcome its community with small talk, advice, food, and fresh cuts. Billy considers this as his way of giving back to his community, and it was a pleasure to be able to learn more about the drug epidemic and the multiple solutions to help stop it.

SHARE: