How a Baltimore barber goes beyond the shop and gives life advice to people in need

In a small room — large enough to fit a barber’s chair, a table adorned with hair products and a beautician’s sink — barber Derel Owens and Juan Batty were engaged in deep conversation that went beyond typical small talk. The two talked about losing their parents, as well as cannabis and alcohol use. “Everyday I smoke, the same butterfly comes out to see me and sit by me,” Batty said during the haircut at the Time Organization, a nonprofit outpatient mental health center and shelter. “I sit there and wonder if that’s my mom.”