Barber Craig Elston converted his barber shop into an emergency shelter for anyone needing protection from the historic snowstorm
As the snow started to fall in Buffalo, New York, on December 23, 2022, which was on Friday, Craig Elston’s barber shop, C&C Cutz, was up and running with electricity, heat, and WiFi. Unlike those in the city who were less lucky than he was, the power stayed on through the storm.
Elston’s story starts when a man knocked on the front door of his barber shop looking for shelter. Since Elston was already stranded there with some clients, he felt the need to just open my door up to him,” he said.
He assumed that at that point, the blizzard couldn’t have gotten much worse and that they’d all be able to go home soon.
But then, he started to see news of people dying in the blizzard, so he decided to go on TikTok and Facebook Live to invite anyone in the community who needed shelter to come and stay at his barber shop. The TikTok video has since amassed nearly one million views.
Facebook groups created in Buffalo for the storm also shared Elston’s message, getting the word out even further.
“I see people dead on Facebook. My first instinct is I got a building with heat and lights, like a lot of people, don’t. Why not open my building up to the public?” Elston said. “I genuinely just did it just so people would have somewhere to go.”
In total, he estimates that 50 people came in and out of his shop from Friday until Monday. He said that around 30 people stayed all weekend, but others came in to warm up, charge their phones, and use WiFi to contact family members.
Elston even skipped Christmas with his 7-year-old daughter in favor of the people he saved, saying he felt an obligation to his community.
Most people who stayed at the barber shop had homes nearby but had lost power and needed a place that was warm or had gotten stuck outside when the snow started.
Elston fronted the money for those who needed transportation to get home. He paid for food, drinks, and snacks from the corner store — one mile away — which people traveled to in packs of four for sustenance. And he kept the electricity running throughout Christmas weekend.
“I’m not charging nobody nothing, it’s for free,” he explains in the TikTok video, adding that other businesses that took people in during the storm would sometimes charge them for that assistance instead.
“This was a tragedy here,” Elston said. “A lot of people that are not from Buffalo don’t understand how terrible the weather is. This is the worst I’ve ever seen.”
People’s been reaching out to me calling me a hero. And the most I tell them is that I’m no hero. I’m just a person that got a heart,” he said
Elston continued: “I felt like at that time it was what I was supposed to do. I’m sitting in a warm place, and I have got lights and people are without lights. People are without gas, people are without food, and people are without drinks. And I have all those things and I have access to all those things. I’m not gonna be selfish.”
He is “exhausted,” and said he would finally get to go home Tuesday evening.
Sources:
- https://youtu.be/byddEpMz1CM
- https://www.entrepreneur.com/business-news/a-barber-in-buffalo-turned-his-shop-into-a-shelter-for-50/441954
- https://www.tag24.com/science/environment/buffalo-barber-with-a-heart-opens-his-doors-to-those-seeking-warmth-and-wi-fi-2701367
- https://www.insider.com/people-sheltered-in-barber-shop-blizzard-hit-buffalo-new-york-2022-12
- https://readloud.net/
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