Back at Manvers Street

The Julian House Manvers Street hostel is where Eddie's team had been going, twice a month, before the pandemic. Then COVID came, and everything stopped.

When they came back — more than a year later — eight people were waiting.

One man had shoulder-length hair. He'd been growing it since the last time Eddie's team had been in. When it was cut short, he looked ten years younger. He sat there for a moment after, just looking at himself.

"You could see it in his eyes," Eddie said. "You just felt like he was more lifted. Like something had shifted."

Manvers Street is more than a hostel. It's a community. People are rebuilding there — finding their footing, getting support, figuring out what comes next. A haircut is a small thing in that context. But it's also a moment of care that says: you matter. Your appearance matters. You are not forgotten.

The team has been going back ever since.

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