Nonprofit’s mobile showers program for Chula Vista homeless keeps dignity in mind
The nonprofit that spearheaded providing public restrooms and storage units for the homeless in downtown San Diego has launched a portable shower program targeted at people living in their cars and on the street.
Anne Rios, executive director of Think Dignity, said about 20 people used the showers Thursday night at Turning the Hearts Center in Chula Vista.
“We had a wonderful turnout,” she said. “There were no glitches in the system.”
Think Dignity has been working for the last few months to create a portable shower inspired by Lava Mae, a similar program in San Francisco. The Episcopal Diocese of San Diego also has a mobile shower that it takes to its churches that host winter shelters.
Rios said she hopes to expand the program to a weekly schedule at different locations throughout the county. For now, it is at Turning the Hearts Center on the second Thursday of each month between 6 and 9 p.m.
Marc Lovato, executive director of the nonprofit center, said he approached Rios after learning that she was looking for a site to launch the shower program.
“It was a natural collaboration … because of what we were already doing at the center with Dreams for Change,” he said.
Dreams for Change provides secure sites for people who live in their cars. Every night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., portable toilets and security are available for up to 40 cars in the center’s parking lot.
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Lovato said he had been trying to raise money to provide outdoor showers when he learned about Think Dignity’s program.
“With Think Dignity coming on board and offering this service, it would be just another opportunity to bring some sort of normalcy to these families,” he said about the homeless people who sleep in cars at the parking lot.
The center’s thrift store will be open on the nights the shower is in the parking lot so people can have access to clothes, Rios said. Three stylists and a barber also were at the center Thursday night to work on people’s hair.
Rios said the shower program provides three main benefits. First, it restores a sense of dignity to the individuals, she said. The showers also have a health benefit in providing better hygiene.
Finally, a fresh shower is necessary for anyone who wants to find or keep a job.
“It’s difficult to get off the street and get a job when they haven’t bathed in a week,” Rios said.
gary.warth@sduntiontribune.com
Warth writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
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