Fresh Start Barber School Director and Instructor Josh Ebeling demonstrates a blunt cut for students. The downtown Kokomo barber school, 102 W. Walnut St., opened last week. Students are primarily folks reentering society after being incarcerated. Photo by Kelly Lafferty Gerber | Kokomo Tribune
His last arrest was the wake-up call.
Joshua Ebeling was facing multiple felony drug charges and staring down a 14-year maximum sentence.
His life to that point had been a series of stints behind bars, drug use and a childhood of trauma.
There was a car accident, his adoptive father spent seven months in a coma, Ebeling’s brother dealt with mental illness, his grandfather died from HIV. Substance abuse started when Ebeling was 13.
The last arrest, though, was a turning point.
“At that moment, I realized I wanted to change,” Ebeling said.
That was in 2017. Ebeling said had a come-to moment with God.
“I told Him if He’d get me out of this mess, I’d serve Him,” said the Kokomo man.
Ebeling addressed his addiction, PTSD and grief while serving time in the Miami Correctional Facility.
He also started cutting hair. It came naturally. Both his grandfather and mother were in the hair business.
“That’s where I got really good at it,” Ebeling said.
Ebeling was released six years early and completed re-entry court.
His knack for cutting hair led to a career. Ebeling was a partial owner of Famous Cuts Barbershop for a while.
But he felt a calling to give back, to help those who were once in the same position he had been.
Ebeling had a vision. A barber schoolfor those trying to reintegrate into society. Those who needed skills and a path forward.
“Everybody needs a fresh start,” Ebeling said. “It’s never too late for a change.”
He stepped away from Famous Cuts, and with the help of a couple friends from Stars of Light Chapel, founded a barber school in downtown Kokomo.
Ebeling reflected on his journey as he sat inside the newly renovated building at 102 W. Walnut Street.
Twenty barber chairs line the walls. A grant from Drug Free Howard County afforded the work stations.
The Community Foundation serving Howard, Carroll and Clinton counties provided the needed technology for students. Howard County Commissioners paid for 15 barber kits.
“The community has really helped us out,” Ebeling said.
Fresh Start Barber School welcomed its first class last week.
“This will give them an opportunity to have a career and give them a foundation,” Ebeling said.
It has attracted the exact type of person Ebeling was hoping to reach.
People like Jacob Franklin. Like Ebeling, Franklin served time for drug use. He also started cutting hair.
“I discovered a side of me I never knew I had,” Franklin said. “It’s almost like therapy at the same time. You’re connecting, building your relationships with people.”
Franklin has cut hair for four years, but to realize his dream of owning a barbershop and being an instructor, he’ll need a license.
That’s where Fresh Start comes in.
Students will complete 1,500 hours of education, between classroom and practical work, under the tutelage of Ebeling and another licensed instructor. The first 400 practical hours are spent working on mannequins.
The course is intensive and will take anywhere from a year to a year and half to complete. Students don’t learn to just cut hair, they learn how to shampoo, groom beards, color hair and there’s a lot on sanitation.
“There’s a really big need for a trade,” Ebeling said.
Students are looking for the same thing, too.
Angie Vasquez was released from prison in April. She was set to have her ankle monitor off the day after her first class at Fresh Start.
“I’m excited for this start, fresh start,” she said with a smile.
Vasquez, brand new to cutting hair, hopes learning a new skill will help on the employment front. Finding a job with a felony on one’s record is notoriously difficult.
“That’s something I wasn’t really prepared for,” she said.
Local barbershops have already inquired about hiring future graduates.
“We’re going to be able to give guys jobs,” Ebeling said. “There are going to be some nice cuts coming out.”
There was no advertising for Fresh Start. Students heard of the school by word of mouth or knew Ebeling, who is prevalent in the reentry court community. He said some people have waited a year for the school to open.
“God’s really been bringing them to me,” Ebeling said. “You have some guys that are really dedicated. They want that change in their life.”
There’s also a focus on community at Fresh Start. Expect back-to-school cuts for kids and free hair cuts for those living in assisted living facilities.
“We’re going to teach the importance of giving back to the community,” Ebeling.
Taurean Jones already has his sights set on giving back. He’d like to have his own nonprofit barbershop where he can give people jobs, his way of paying it forward.
Jones was shot twice in the head in 2012 and sentenced to 30 years in prison on drug charges. The left side of his body is paralyzed. For Jones, Fresh Start is the chance at a career.
“I think this will be a good opportunity to put my life on the right track,” he said.
Jones is completing reentry court and nearing graduation.
“I’m just glad I made it this far,” he said.
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