A recently-established nonprofit seeks to reduce recidivism by providing a path to a career in barbering.
One of the major obstacles facing people who have served time for criminal convictions is finding a good job. Many businesses and organizations will not hire felons after being released from prison, and those unable to find a steady job will often find their way back to prison due to relapsing back into criminal behavior, a concept known as recidivism.
The F.A.D.E.D. Foundation, and its founder Antoine Carey, offer a path to those looking for employment and a way out of the clutches of recidivism. Established in 2024, F.A.D.E.D., which stands for Facing Adversity through Dedication, Education and Determination, seeks to combat recidivism through the barbering industry. Barbering is one of the few industries that will hire those coming out of prison.
“We aim to prevent generations of incarceration by offering this career as well as offering those that are at risk the opportunity,” said Carey of the foundation’s intent.
According to Failsafe-ERA, a local non-profit organization which offers services to those coming out of prison, the Fredericksburg area has a recidivism rate of 4%, which is lower than the rest of the Commonwealth of Virginia (10%).
It’s a path that Carey knows well. In 2006, he was sentenced to 13 years at the Haynesville Correctional Facility after being convicted for drug distribution, attempted murder and possession of firearms. While serving time, he took the facility’s course in hairstyling and was licensed and ready to work when he was released in 2014 after serving 8 years of his sentence.
After his release, Carey opened his own barber shop Faded & Co. in 2016 and opened the Faded & Co. Barber Academy in 2020. Since starting his business, Carey has trained seven master barbers and five barbers. So far, two of his pupils have opened up their own barber shops. His story was told in the documentary “Fade In Full: The Antoine Carey Story,” which was released in 2019.
“The impact that a barber has on these lifelong relationships that are with young men, especially at a very difficult age,” he said. “To be able to interact with a lot of these young men for 45 minutes every two weeks is monumental as well.”
Isaiah Landry was one of the college’s graduates. Since graduating, he has not only opened his own barber shop but also sits on the foundation’s board of directors.
Landry described entering the Faded program as “one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I learned not only about cutting hair but about giving back to my community and about establishing myself as a true business. I wouldn’t be where I am today without it, and it instilled in me a positive work ethic and strong morals.”
Carey has also worked with local organizations such as the Fredericksburg Regional Food Bank, the Central Rappahannock Regional Library System and Micah Ministries by offering free haircuts to those in need.
When Carey set up shop during the food bank’s annual Hunger Action Month, so many people lined up for free haircuts that they had to cut off sign-ups an hour into the event, said Dominique Thomas, the organization’s volunteer coordinator.
Gretchen Rusden, Director of Marketing and Communication for the Fredericksburg Chamber of Commerce, met Carey while she was working with Embrace Treatment Foster Care and worked with him to get free haircuts for children in need.
She described the impact that Carey’s work has had on the community, including for her own father who is currently in hospice care due to cancer,
“A big thing that people take for granted is what a haircut can do for you,” Rusden said. “The self-confidence it can give you, the pride, I think there’s a lot that goes along with it. Antoine’s been gracious enough to come in and cut my father’s hair. He’s probably going to be doing that for more of the gentlemen in that [hospice] facility.”
In addition to the aforementioned organizations, Carey has visited local schools such as the Oberle Academy to talk about his experiences. Carey hopes to increase the foundation’s presence in the community by holding events and continuing the dialogue about reducing recidivism.
“This non-profit is ultimately trying to achieve, not just combating recidivism by offering a barber’s license and making professionals,” he said. “But also stressing the importance of community involvement in order to pull back into the community that has pulled back into them. Being a victim of incarceration, I know incarceration affects us all, not just the individual that goes in.”
