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JACKSON, Miss. —

A camp in Jackson is hoping to teach life lessons to teenagers while sparking a potential career in a familiar place.

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For one week, campers learn the art of barbering, along with other handy skills, like tying a tie, mowing the lawn, and changing a tire. The best part? The camp is completely free.

“God gave me a vision of this barber camp,” said Tracey Williams.

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Williams owns her own shop and barber school – Tracey’s Kutz – and is using her own time and resources to steer Jackson’s youth away from violence.

“Get these youth off the street. They need something to do. A lot of them are doing the crime because they don’t have nothing to do. They don’t have a way of making an income,” Williams said.

By learning the art of cutting hair, the goal of the Executive Barber Camp is to introduce a possible career path, but at the very least, prevent these bright, young minds from becoming victims of Jackson’s crime crisis.

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“I lost a couple people to the violence,” said camper Kevonta Jefferson. “It was very sad, devastating. Like, this is why I keep my head straight, so I won’t have to become a victim to the streets, a victim to the system.”

Out of their own pockets, Williams and her team got every camper their own pair of clippers and tools to get started.

“That’s my gift. My gift is to see their faces light up,” Williams said.

With the help of instructors, Kevonta won the cutting competition. Four of the campers have already registered for barber college because of their experience at EBC, including Kevonta.

“I want to be the change in my family,” he said.

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