Senior Connection will launch a mobile barber shop designed to help older adults and people with disabilities enroll in state benefits, a model the Worcester-based nonprofit’s leader said is the first of its kind.
Barber Connect will start seeing clients on May 1 as the van travels throughout the 61 cities and towns in Central Massachusetts, including stops at senior centers and public libraries, said Moses Dixon, Senior Connection’s president and CEO.
The mobile service is an attempt to meet older adults where they are, said Dixon. The barber shop is a place where clients form connections with their barbers, and Senior Connection wants to help foster those relationships without a financial barrier.
Barber Connect will provide free haircuts and trims, while assisting clients with Medicare and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program enrollment and offering health and wellness screenings.
Barber Connect will operate from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday through Friday. The service will start accepting appointments on May 1.
Senior Connection’s new initiative is modeled very similarly to its Care Express mobile health service. Established in August 2024, Care Express travels throughout Central Massachusetts, offering older adults health, dental, and vision screenings in addition to referral services and medication management.
Founded in 1974 as the Central Massachusetts Agency on Aging, the nonprofit changed its name to Senior Connection in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The organization offers food, health, housing, and disability services to older adults as well as support for grandparents raising grandchildren.
In fiscal 2024, Senior Connection generated $5.73 million in revenue and held $2.15 million in assets, according to nonprofit financial tracker GuideStar.
Mica Kanner-Mascolo is a staff writer at Worcester Business Journal, who primarily covers the healthcare, manufacturing, and higher education industries.
