Hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, many local hair salons and barbershops are still waiting to receive any kind of government assistance as they struggle to survive, writes Jen Samuel for the Daily Local News.

To help advocate for the cosmetology industry, Phoenixville resident Bertina Pelzer collaborated with friends and colleagues during the mandated shutdown to create the Pennsylvania Professional Image Alliance. The organization now represents 161 barbershops and hair salons in the Philadelphia region.

Pelzer has also spent months advocating for the state to release CARES Act grant funds to support the survival of hair salons and barbershops – businesses that provide an essential service to the community.

“We really need attention to the small businesses that don’t fall above a certain tax bracket,” she said.

And while still hopeful about the future, many small businesses have suffered irreparable harm during the pandemic.

Entrepreneur Yvonne Richardson, who owns Royalty Hair Salon in Downingtown, said she lost six figures of income during the shutdown.

“There is no catching up,” she said. “It is starting over, basically.”

Read more in the Daily Local News here.

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