More Than a Haircut: How Small Moments Create Big Change at St. Anthony’s 

December 30, 2025

Especially during COVID, the meaning of essential services became clear. And St. Anthony’s delivers impressively on those essentials: hot meals, connections to shelter, and the free health care thousands of Tenderloin residents rely on in San Francisco. 

But beyond the necessities lie the quieter needs—the ones that don’t always make headlines but make a real difference in someone’s day. These are the needs Chris Pellouchoud in Guest Engagement thinks about a lot. 

“Being unhoused, dealing with addiction, being broke—it takes a toll,” Chris says. “But sometimes it’s the small things that can provide the biggest lift.” 

Like a fresh haircut. 

Every Friday, after the Dining Room closes, Chris and a few staff members good with the shears offer free haircuts to St. Anthony’s guests. The atmosphere is homey and relaxed: “stylists” trading jokes with their clients, kids weaving between chairs, music playing in the background. 

Chris says he can see a guest sit up a little straighter with a new look. “It’s about self-esteem,” he says. “A lot of guests are walking around with some heavy stuff. A haircut and a little time out—it’ll lift you.” Since launching the service in October 2024, he and the team have given 460 haircuts—and 380 so far in 2025. 

He quotes former Forty-Niner Deion Sanders with a grin: “’If you look good, you feel good, and you play good,’ and that’s what I want for our guests.” 

Speaking of football, guests can catch Sunday games on TV in the Dining Room, too. It’s something Chris says he’d want for his own dad if he were unhoused. And then there’s the weekly Bingo game—always lively, always competitive, and always noisy with guests vying for the small prizes that keep things fun. 

For Chris, each activity matters not because of the thing itself, but because of what it unlocks: connection, belonging, dignity, and moments of normalcy. 

He knows how powerful those moments can be because he’s lived it. Chris has been sober for a while now, and he carries those early days with him. He recalls his second week at work, when he met a guest with no shoes. 

“I got him a pair,” Chris says. “And when I walked away, I thought, this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing. I’m supposed to be of service.” 

He doesn’t preach sobriety or push anyone toward change. Instead, like St. Anthony’s founder Fr. Alfred Boeddeker, Chris only offers what he can with no strings and no questions, letting the environment do the talking—welcoming, steady, respectful—while walking alongside guests on their journey. 

“The dignity of a fresh haircut, a seat at the Bingo table, a friendly rivalry on a Sunday game—they might look like small things,” Chris says. “But they’re really part of something bigger.” 

At St. Anthony’s, that “something bigger” is the human connection that becomes trust, the quiet force that can help someone take their first, vulnerable steps toward life-changing services from health care and recovery support to transitional employment and long-term stability. All offered freely, thanks to the generous community of donors who make it possible for Chris and every service team to continue their vital work.  

“I know how hard it is out there,” Chris says. “It’s tough to keep connections. But here at St. Anthony’s, we’ve got a few ways to help people feel better, and maybe even find the hope and support they need for better days ahead.” d more, we’re well-equipped to meet our guests wherever they are on their journey to health, hope, stability and renewal.”  

The innovative services at St. Anthony’s are made possible by caring donors who believe in dignity, compassion, and community. Your gift helps sustain decades of whole-person care for San Franciscans in need—and ensures this work continues for generations to come.