BURBANK : Homeless Center to Offer Shower Rooms

Construction of a shower, bathroom and laundry room for the homeless has been completed at the Burbank Temporary Aid Center and could open Monday, the head of the center said.

“Most people take showers for granted so they don’t realize how good a shower can make us feel about life,” said Cherie Combs, executive director of the center, which gives food and other help to the poor in Burbank.

Using a $50,000 grant from the Burbank Community Hospital Foundation, the improvements were completed at the center, 1304 W. Burbank Blvd. About $34,000 was spent on construction and the rest of the grant money will be used for operating expenses, Combs said.

The facilities will open as soon as a janitorial service can be found, Combs said.

“Their life is hard enough,” Combs said of the homeless. “We want to give them the opportunity to feel better about themselves and about life. How do you go to a job interview in dirty clothes and a body that has not had a shower in a month?

“Burbank is fortunate that we don’t have a real high homeless population,” said Combs, who added that unlike the stereotype some people have of the homeless as drug addicts, alcoholics or mentally ill, those she deals with in Burbank are usually on the streets merely because they have lost their jobs and apartments.

“I think it will make a difference in their self-esteem,” Combs said. “If you were to talk to a homeless person, they would generally say they would like to have clean clothes and a shower.”