When J'Rod Franks opened Lasting Affects Barbershop in Manor in 2020, he hoped his shop would be more than just a place to get a haircut. Growing up in Lockhart, he said he saw the role local barbers could fill as trusted advocates for their neighbors, and he aspired to one day lead a business that way.

"I always wanted to be a pillar in the community," Franks said. "A barber always knows somebody that knows somebody. We're a great reference point for people."

The roots of barbershops as supportive spaces for Black men extend back to the Civil Rights movement, when Jim Crow laws limited where Black Americans could safely gather. Today, institutions like Franks' still function as important community hubs.

That's why when the staff at the Black Men's Health Clinic were brainstorming ways to bring potential patients through the clinic's doors, they thought of barbers. It's a growing trend for public health outreach efforts across the country.

"With the stigma around men and doctors and health care, the idea was, 'Yeah, a man may not feel as if they're going to go to a primary care physician, but they're going to go to the barbershop,'" said Antonio Montgomery, who heads up the Healthy Cuts program at Black Men's Health Clinic.

The Black Men's Health Clinic was founded in 2022 with the goal of creating an approachable space for Black men and other men of color to address their physical and mental health. The clinic offers primary care and mental health screening. It also has programs designed to manage specific concerns like high blood pressure and diabetes -- issues that Black men experience at higher rates than the general population.

Studies show that Black men are more likely to get these important health screenings done when their doctor is the same race as them. Another recent study found that the presence of even one Black primary care doctor in a community improved life expectancy of local Black residents.

But in order for these benefits to materialize, Black Men's Health Clinic has to get patients through the door. That's where barbers come in, serving as ambassadors for the clinic by starting conversations with their clients about health. Montgomery said almost 30 barbers are participating in the Healthy Cuts program so far, in shops from Austin to Manor to Round Rock.

"We're not looking for barbers to change their approach with clients," Montgomery said. "We're looking for organic conversation."

For Franks, that usual means starting simple: "When was the last time you had your checkup?" he sometimes asks.

Montgomery hopes barbers like Franks can hammer home the importance of staying on top of issues like high blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose, while letting people know that Black Men's Health Clinic offers a welcoming environment for them.

Montgomery also sometimes comes to participating barber shops himself, setting up a table where men can come in to get their blood pressure and blood glucose checked and learn about potential next steps.

Montgomery said around 485 men have been reached by the Healthy Cuts program this year so far. A few dozen of those folks were dads who had their blood pressure checked at a recent back-to-school event hosted by Lasting Affects Barber Shop, while their kids got free haircuts from Franks.

Franks said that's exactly the kind of thing he hoped would happen when he opened his shop.

"My whole idea was to bring a lasting effect on the people that we encounter -- not just a physical transformation, but a mental transformation ... and to help bring people up from where they are," he said.

Aside from the prospect of better health, there is a little something extra in it for Franks' clients if they connect to a doctor's appointment through the Healthy Cuts Program: $25 off their next haircut.