SLO County program has given 11,000 free showers to homeless people: ‘It’s been a blessing’
When Shower the People’s 2018 Chevrolet van pulls into a local parking lot, efficiency is the name of the game.
Within 10 minutes of the van’s arrival, volunteers deploy the stepladders that allow clients to access the shower trailer it’s towing. Kiosks are set up and hot water starts flowing.
Since beginning service in late 2018, Shower the People has given more than 11,000 free showers to homeless community members in San Luis Obispo County, operations manager Gary Petersen said, and is on track to deliver 12,000 showers by the end of 2022.
“(Our clients) may have mental health issues. They may have a whole myriad of challenges they face,” Petersen said. “I can tell on a case-by-case basis every time they come out of the shower, that their day just got better.”
Clients said Shower the People has helped keep them safe and healthy amid the health hazards of homelessness.
“It’s been a blessing to find something like this,” Jazmin Vasquez, a new client, said at a Tuesday, Oct. 25, shower day at the Unitarian Universalist church near Meadow Park.
Volunteers work on ‘front line’ of homelessness
Petersen said Shower the People currently relies on a staff of around 30 volunteers. The nonprofit organization operates five days a week at four locations throughout SLO County.
“By the end of the year, we’ll have performed more than 5,000 showers,” Petersen said. “That’s a lot of showers — we get to know the people, we get to understand what their issues are, and we’re there on the front line every day.”
Volunteers clean the trailer’s three shower stalls between showers, help clients use them and distribute free underwear, socks, T-shirts, hand sanitizer, face masks, sanitary products, wet wipes and nonperishable meals.
Judy Staley, who has volunteered with the program since January 2021, works the intake kiosk — scheduling clients’ showers and distributing the free supplies.
Staley said approaching Shower the People’s clients without judgment or preconceptions is important to maintaining good relationships.
“I definitely feel like often people assume homeless people aren’t working hard, or that they’re (homeless) because of things that they did or they chose, and I don’t agree with that,” Staley said. “I just try to treat everyone as people.”
Staley said packages of wet wipes are among the hottest commodities requested by the clients, because they allow them to stay clean longer.
Staley’s intake kiosk also contains pocket-sized cards with contact information for local homeless service, health and treatment providers Shower the People works with, connecting clients to the right providers who can help with their individual problems.
Some of these organizations, Petersen said, are directly involved with the operation of Shower the People.
Dignity Health, which operates Arroyo Grande Community Hospital, French Hospital Medical Center in San Luis Obispo and Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria, provides the washcloths and towels and laundry service. The health care company has begun sending its doctors to the shower site at South County People’s Kitchen at LifePoint Church in Grover Beach on Wednesdays.
Petersen said vulnerability and trust are needed to make a shower program work.
“You have to establish that level of credibility,” Petersen said. ”I’m here to be a solution. I’m not here to corral you into part of the system that you don’t want to be.”
Another volunteer, Dr. Dave Bernhardt, got involved with Shower the People through his church, Unitarian Universalists of San Luis Obispo. Bernhardt said the church’s location near Meadow Park makes it a “nexus” for homeless activity.
“This is a way to figure out what’s happening (on the streets),” Bernhardt said. “It’s been great. Plus, it’s not hard work or otherwise I wouldn’t do it.”
Maintaining good hygiene can help prevent worsening existing health problems, Bernhardt said.
Bernhardt has been working with Shower the People for three years, including during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when the program operated in a more limited capacity.
“During (that time), we got shut down just a little bit — about 90 days — but we showered (people) with hazmat suits on for 18 months during the middle of COVID,” Petersen said.
Clients praise benefits of cleanliness, impact on mental health
For John “Indian” Turner, the line between program volunteer and beneficiary is blurred.
Turner lived in Las Vegas for around 10 years, during which he struggled with drug and alcohol addiction.
Looking to put some distance between himself and his addiction problems, Turner, a former SLO County resident, returned to the area last year and became homeless shortly after nearly one year ago.
“I was like Robert Downey Jr.,” Turner said. “I had it made. I had everything, but I still had my addictions, and finally, I’m kicking the addictions just like him.”
Turner lives near the intersection of Santa Rosa Street and Foothill Boulevard in SLO. He bathed in the nearby creekbeds before he heard about Shower the People’s program.
It takes Turner about 45 minutes to walk to the Unitarian Universalist church, but he said he is glad to make the trip to get showers and supplies and to contribute as a volunteer.
Turner often rolls towels and washcloths for other clients.
“These people don’t treat me like I’m homeless. They treat me like I’m one of them,” Turner said, referring to the Shower the People volunteers. “They treat me like I’m one of the crew.”
Vasquez and her daughter Christina, 4, began getting showers at Shower the People this month.
Vasquez lives in a recreational vehicle with her two daughters and fiance, a decision she said she made so she wouldn’t have to continue spending her savings on rent while she was unemployed.
While the RV’s shower and bathroom are functional, the propane heater is not, Vasquez said. So she uses Shower the People to give her family warmer showers.
Heather Monroe and Roy Christopher Wright live together in a car, and recently began to use the free shower program.
Monroe said getting a clean shower lets her feel “like a new person.”
“I just washed my hair for the first time in seven months,” Monroe said. “I’ve got clean hair today.”
Monroe called Shower the People’s volunteer staff “pioneers” in providing services and aid in SLO.
She said more people like the program’s staff are needed to combat the problem of homelessness.
“I’m here to be blessed and to be a blessing, just like these programs,” Monroe said.
According to Peterson, the future of Shower the People likely will focus on expanding the program’s services.
“(Homeless services and hygiene is) a growth industry, unfortunately,” Petersen said. “And the question remains: Do our local leaders have the political will to find solutions to the problem?”
Interested parties can get involved or donate to the program through the program’s website.
This story was originally published October 28, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
