I started by accident in November 2014. I was volunteering at a Salvation Army in Essex, talking to people about addictions as I am 15 years sober myself, and saw the homeless guys coming in for something to eat. I had recently seen a guy on Facebook called Mark Bustos doing makeovers on homeless people on the street in New York so I thought I would bring my scissors to the next session and give some haircuts. Little did I know it would change my life. I put some pictures on Facebook and soon some hairdressers and barbers said they would like to help and some other centres said they would like us to come and five years later we have 68 projects across the UK & Ireland, 600 volunteers and have given over 40,000 haircuts. I soon realised that it was much more than a haircut that we were giving. It’s about respect, connection, touch and communication. There is something special about any profession that lays hands on people. Human touch instantly breaks down barriers, particularly in these disconnected times. We are talking about people who frequently say they feel invisible and lonely so for someone to touch them and have a conversation means the world and is a really beautiful thing to witness. After being a guest on a few podcasts to talk about Haircuts4Homeless, it occurred to me that I have met so many wonderful people in my time with the charity that I should start my own, primarily to highlight some of the work of the unsung heroes who I meet. It’s now out and called “Hear Me, See Me.” Podcast and is available through Acast and on Spotify and iTunes. I have been fortunate enough to have had some amazing guests including Game of Thrones star Lena Headey, Meg Mathews, Bella Freud, The Duchess of York, Sam McKnight and Ozarks star Marc Menchaca and also some amazing unsung heroes who work in the homeless centres. I have also done a week of podcasts featuring some amazing women who have survived domestic violence and abuse who are an inspiration. Stewart Roberts MBE