In his home in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Lenny White gathers up his supplies for the day: a red, white and blue striped barber pole, hair clippers and a table-top jukebox — all the makings of a pop-up barbershop, catered to a very special group of clients.
White is known as the “dementia-friendly barber.” Along with his assistant, Jonathan Wray, he visits care homes across Northern Ireland to cut the hair of men living with dementia.
“When these men come into the room,” White said, “they think they are coming into the barbershop, which they really are. It is Lenny’s Barbershop, but it’s not on the Main Street. It’s in their living accommodations in the care home setting.”
White accomplishes that feeling by replicating a traditional barbershop, down to the music playing on the jukebox, from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin to Elvis Presley.
Check out the inspiring story of Lenny, the dementia-friendly barber, on Vital Signs w/ @drsanjaygupta this weekend @cnni. The smiles on the faces of Lenny’s clients say it all. This one was a real treat! @StefCNN @dementiabarber
https://t.co/uHNpDHU0vj— Samantha Bresnahan (@samanthabrez) November 8, 2019