2 days ago
Nashville non-profit provides a simple service with a meaningful impact
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Inside an old school bus, a basic necessity most of us take for granted.
'When I first heard about Shower The People, it just seemed obvious; a shower is what people need to reset. It kind of brings them hope, restores them — rejuvenates them,' said Tim Moses, a volunteer with the non-profit organization.
Moses drives the bus-turned-mobile shower unit across Nashville to provide hot showers, laundry service and hygiene products to people experiencing homelessness.
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'We have a lot of people who are just amazed this is even here,' Moses said. 'Then we have a lot of people who come back each time because they rely on it.'
Executive Director Meredith MacLeod Jaulin started Shower The People in 2017.
'I'm a clinical social worker, so social work is my background, and I really wanted to do something that would help people without having to ask a ton of questions — ask them to bring all their paperwork and prove their need to us,' MacLeod Jaulin said. 'I saw a Facebook video about a company called Lava Mae out in San Francisco, and I was like, 'This is exactly what Nashville needs.''
Shower The People notes there are only 15 showers in the city available on a walk-in basis. This organization has helped fill the gap. Over the past eight years, they've provided 8,000 showers and distributed 500,000 personal care items.
'We have first aid kits [and] hygiene kits, which are really basic hygiene supplies — toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, razors, other miscellaneous stuff,' MacLeod Jaulin explained as she gave News 2 a tour of the bus.
She said she gets a lot of hugs after clients take a shower.
'Because it's the first time a lot of them feel clean and feel human,' MacLeod Jaulin said. 'You can tell that they have been really struggling to relax and feel safe and unwind. They are given 20 minutes with a place that they can do that with a door locked, and they can be safe. Then when people come out, they are standing a little bit taller; they have a little bit of a smile on their face.'
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Shower The People also provides laundry services to low-income families and victims of disasters and emergencies, including survivors of recent tornadoes and the Covenant School shooting. The organization is solely funded through grants and donations.
'We are working on raising money for our next laundry or shower bus,' MacLeod Jaulin said. 'It will have four shower stalls on it, so we'll be able to get twice as many people in and really be able to double the impact that we're making.'
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