In full precious streetin the heart of Madrid, there are more than tourists, shops and noise. There is humanity. A humanity that is presented with scissors, a layer of barber and a smile. This is how Samuel Carballares, a young man from Arganda del Reytransforms their afternoons after work: dedicating them to those who live in the street. “I came six months ago … come here, talk to them and be able to change, right?” Samuel says in an interview in the program Putting the streets of COPE. His story is touching hearts, and it is not for less.
A barber from Arganda del Rey
Samuel works as a barber, but his vocation goes far beyond his job. For a few months, he decided to take his backpack, a small sidewalk and walk through the center of Madrid. But not to walk without more, but to approach the homeless people, talk to them and cut their hair. He returns something that the world often denies them: Dignity. And in that simple gesture he has found a mission.
It was in one of those meetings where he met Manuela Portuguese man who arrived in Spain in 1992 and whose life had crumbled until he ended up sleeping under a supporter. “I fix my beard and it gives me a lot of confidence. It’s a pleasure. I’m getting something that I lacked,” says Manuel excited. His testimony reflects what Samuel has achieved: a real, human and deep change.
From haircut to hope
Samuel does not limit himself to combing. Want more. “I am talking to an army, not only to cut their hair, but to give them clothes, food … have a roof too, right?” He explains with enthusiasm. Because yes, for him the hairdresser is only the beginning: their true goal is to help them recover their place in society. According to data from FOESSA Report Of Caritas, more than 37,000 people live in a situation of withouthogarismo in Spain. Samuel fights that figure with each conversation, with each gesture.
Europa Press
Dozens of people in precious street
-Manuel’s case is the best example. When they met, he hardly spoke. The drink had taken control. Today, thanks to that routine with Samuel, something has changed: “Now I have recovered a little … I still want to recover,” he says. And Samuel responds with determination: “And you’re going to recover, I know you’re going to recover!”
The key to this link is in constancy, closeness and respect. Samuel does not judge. Accompany. It offers listening, company and faith in the other. A form of help reminiscent of other initiatives such as NGOs as solidarity or the project Homeless Entrepeneurwhich also promote the social reintegration of homeless from citizen action.
Europa Press
Passers -by walk near a commercial area on the street of Preciados
It may seem like a small story in the middle of a city like Madrid, but its reach is immense. Each scissors that move, every word between cutting and cutting, returns something that seemed lost: the sense of belonging, of care, community.
And while politics discusses and society walks with haste, Samuel is planted every afternoon on the sidewalks of the center with a simple and powerful idea: that no one deserves to be invisible.
