LEXINGTON, Ky. — Project Ricochet has an initiative combining the beauty industry with health, with the goal of making health services more accessible to the community.

Several barbershops and salons in Lexington are part of the nonprofit’s Barbershop and Beauty Salon Public Health Initiative.

“We decided to create those two things together, showing them resources and avenues to take and numbers to call to better their health and to provide that for themselves and their family,” said Tony Burdette, master barber of the initiative.

Project Ricochet celebrated the grand opening of its Health Promotion and Education Center Sept. 21 inside Cultural Cuts Barbershop.

At Project Ricochet's new Health Promotion and Education Center in Cultural Cuts Barbershop, people can get essential services like health screenings and vaccines. (Spectrum News 1/Geraldine Torrellas)

“This is an underserved community,” said Quinton Marks of Project Ricochet. “Not a lot of health clinics in this area, so this is a great corridor. Georgetown Street (has) historically been an African American area connected to Newtown Pike, so this is a central spot.”

People will be able to get free health services like screenings and vaccines. Rashida Thompson, owner of Rashida’s House of Style and Cultural Cuts, said this is Kentucky’s first health clinic to open in a barbershop.

“Being able to come here and get screened for whatever, get your blood pressure checked, if you need to be vaccinated, get vaccinated … it’s a great thing, especially in this day and time and in this community,” said Damon Franklin, a barber at Cultural Cuts. “(Not everybody has) access to it.”

The clinic will be open to the public Mondays from noon to 3 p.m. Project Ricochet has partnered with entities like Anthem Medicaid, Bluegrass Community Health and the Fayette County Health Department to offer several services.