A video showing men from a Los Angeles homeless shelter receiving free haircuts has been watched more than a million times in just a few weeks.
![The 76-second clip shows the transformation four men from the Union Rescue Mission underwent after visiting a barber.
Its writer and producer, Tyler Bridges, told BuzzFeed News that people's perception of homelessness somehow being below them inspired the video.
“I wanted to do something to show others that they [people who are homeless] really aren't that different – they're just like you and me,” he said.](https://img.youtube.com/vi/yJIQwwXJ_tw/mqdefault.jpg)
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The 76-second clip shows the transformation four men from the Union Rescue Mission underwent after visiting a barber.
Its writer and producer, Tyler Bridges, told BuzzFeed News that people's perception of homelessness somehow being below them inspired the video.
“I wanted to do something to show others that they [people who are homeless] really aren't that different – they're just like you and me,” he said.
The video was shot at the end of last year and uploaded to YouTube in January.
Since then it has been watched 1.3 million times.
The team behind the clip said they approached people outside the Union Rescue Mission and offered them a shower, a free haircut, and clean clothes.
“We pitched them the concept of the project – some were into it, some were not," the director, Thomas Reiten, said. "The guys that were willing to appear on camera were great.”
The hair-cutting shown in the video was by two barbers, Terrance Fines and Tim Doma.
The former is the in-house barber at Union Rescue Mission.
The video's description encourages viewers to visit the Association of Gospel Rescue Missions' website to find out how they can help in their local area.
Both Reiten and Bridge said the reaction to their video had been extremely positive.
"I'm really proud of the video and hope it moves people to serve others," Reiten said.