Personal Stories

Just outside the Forecast Salon in Homewood is a gigantic mural painted along the wall. It features every color of the rainbow jumping out into the street. You’re up close with a 10-foot disco ball painted right beside a unicorn and two massive blue and purple manicured coifs. Forecast’s owner Brittany McNaughton (friends call her [...]

The smiles in Eryn Mullins’ photos jump off the screen. But she’ll be the first to tell you it wasn’t always this way. “I was on my dad’s insurance, and then suddenly, I wasn’t. I was uninsured for three years after that,” Eryn said.

The Cover Alabama coalition held its first Lobby Day on March 21 on the steps of the State House in Montgomery. Faith leaders, community advocates and people living in Alabama's health coverage gap spoke about the importance of Medicaid expansion for their families and communities. Advocates then met with lawmakers to urge them to save [...]

“Our rural hospital is the first line of care for the people in our community. If someone’s really sick, they need to be stabilized. They can be stabilized here quickly and efficiently. If our hospital closed ... people will die.” That was the blunt reality that Dr. Marsha Raulerson shared at a health care panel [...]

Kayla is a talented, young hairstylist who has built up a successful clientele in one of Birmingham’s hippest salons. She’s been a stylist for 12 years and said she loves the independence it gives her. She sees dozens of clients every week and takes great pride in her work.

“It’s a great industry, but it’s not taken as seriously as it needs to be,” Kayla said. “Especially relative to the number of people that come through our doors to get their hair done.

Kayla grew up in a small town in Walker County but started her career in an “Over the Mountain” suburb south of Birmingham. The salon served a wealthier clientele, but it didn’t offer many benefits to stylists. Among the benefits she didn’t have: employer-provided health insurance.

Barbers and stylists in Alabama often work for themselves, and that comes with a cost. One Birmingham barber in the state's health coverage gap said he decided against getting health insurance because premiums were close to $1,000 monthly. In his own words: "Me personally? I don't go to the doctor. I think it's part of [...]

Trent Thomas, 42, has been doing hair for a while now. And the first thing he’ll tell you is how much of a good thing he’s got going.  “I love it here for a million reasons – some superficial – but it really is such a great place to be,” he said, showing off his boss’s massive plant collection visible from the street outside. Trent was able to keep his job and his paycheck at Orbit Salon, in Birmingham’s Five Points South neighborhood, even when the world slowed down in 2020.

When I first met Katie Franklin, she was juggling requests from three guests at the same time. I’ve been visiting Nail World II, right outside Birmingham, for nearly 20 years, but this visit was different. Someone new was greeting me at the door. Katie is a presence who is not easily forgotten. I learned she was the new salon manager. Honestly, it felt like she was right at home. She made greeting 25 to 30 customers an hour look easy. Her maternal aura and gregarious nature shone bright through all the hustle and bustle.