SLO County nonprofit debuts free laundry services for homeless individuals
Two years ago, Wendy Blacker launched 805 Street Outreach with the goal of bringing basic hygiene to Morro Bay’s homeless population.
Her answer to that question — a shower trailer that deploys each week at the Morro Bay Library around noon on Monday — has served hundreds of homeless residents with hot showers, hygiene items and free non-perishable food since.
But after receiving multiple donations from the Balay Ko Foundation — a nonprofit that provides funding to a host of homelessness response programs — Blacker’s team at 805 Street Outreach debuted a new trailer that provides free laundry services, kicking off a new chapter in their efforts to meet homeless individuals where they are.
Blacker, who spent several years living on the streets of San Francisco and later San Luis Obispo County, said she knows firsthand how vital hygiene can be.
“I remember being a homeless drug addict on the streets of the Tenderloin back in the day, and I remember not showering for six months straight, and that’s what really got me focused on my shower program,” Blacker said. “I remember throwing away T-shirts that I absolutely loved because they were crunchy, and I couldn’t wash them.”
A lack of basic hygiene can make it impossible for people experiencing homelessness to focus on their goals, make progress on tracking down jobs or simply be afforded basic dignity by others, Blacker said.
“I understand it, and I don’t judge it, because I’ve lived it,” Blacker said.
805 Street Outreach expands with newfound funds
Just a year ago, Blacker was unsure whether her program would be able to continue offering its weekly services that so many have come to rely on because her nonprofit insurance had doubled in cost to $2 million, she said.
While she was able to fundraise enough through GoFundMe, private donations and grants, the program had to shutter for two months while the issue was resolved.
It was during that funding snafu that the Balay Ko Foundation reached out, asking what the program needed to stay afloat.
“They were like, ‘Well, where do you see yourself in five years?’ and I was just like, ‘Another launch trailer, I’d like to do North County, I’d like a fleet of vehicles, and I’d like to be able to pull my own charge trailer,’” Blacker said. “And they’re just like, ‘OK.’”
Funding in hand, Blacker purchased a new pair of trucks, a second shower trailer and got to work getting her program restarted.
Not long after that, she was shown a video of a similar laundry program operating on Los Angeles’ Skid Row, and was inspired to pursue it as her nonprofit’s next step. Another quick conversation with Balay Ko and another “substantial check” later, she was able to purchase a laundry trailer.
The Balay Ko Foundation has backed several notable homelessness relief efforts across the county over the past few years, including a cabin housing program in Grover Beach and a senior affordable housing complex in San Luis Obispo, but have eschewed speaking with the media about its philanthropic goals at every turn.
“They saved my program, and they’ve saved countless lives,” Blacker said. “They’re an amazing family — I absolutely adore them.”
Further expansions on horizon
Last week, the laundry service kicked off with a ribbon-cutting that featured public officials and members of San Luis Obispo County’s homeless services community.
Sophia Roschelle, a third-generation San Luis Obispo County resident who’s been homeless the past five years, said she’s relied on 805 Street Outreach’s services since the day they were first offered in 2024, and now serves as a volunteer with the organization each Monday.
She’s used other free laundry services such as Laundry of Love’s once-a month service in the past to keep her clothes in wearable condition, but said she’s been impressed by 805 Street Outreach’s ability to provide the same service free of charge each week.
805 Street Outreach’s services also serve as a key social support system for the people who rely on them each week, enlisting former clients — referred to as “family members” — as volunteers, Roschelle said.
“Wendy’s got just a great family bond with everyone, so it’s always kind of nice to come out and see her and see the family,” Roschelle said between swapping laundry cycles. “Everybody that volunteers are really nice, take good care of people, and they actually have compassion.”
Morro Bay Police Department Chief Amy Watkins, who helped Blacker establish the program in 2024 by towing the shower trailer onsite each week before Blacker had her fleet of vehicles, said Blacker fills an important role in a community that doesn’t get as much attention from homeless service providers as the rest of the county.
Because it’s more geographically isolated from the other cities, is surrounded by county land and has an overall smaller population, Morro Bay can be overlooked in homeless outreach, but still has a need for services such as Blackers’, Watkins said.
“For the city, it has been a wonderful opportunity to have programs that really do meet the people where they are and give them the assistance that they’re looking for,” Watkins said. “Not everybody is going to jump into all services, but the amazing part about this service — and I think why it’s been so successful, obviously, with Wendy and 805 Street Outreach — is it’s meeting the needs where these individuals are.”
Blacker said with laundry services up and running, her next goal is to expand beyond Morro Bay to other communities in need, with North County penciled in as a priority for her second shower trailer.
“I would love to expand,” Blacker said. “Morro Bay has just welcomed me with open arms, so this is my starting and stopping point, but expansion is definitely on the horizon.”
