Hopping in the shower is something most Americans do without a thought. Every day, we grab a cup of coffee, get into the shower and then head to work.
For people with no place to call home, they often need to clean themselves in a bathroom at a gas station, restaurant, wherever they can find a sink with running water. It’s not uncommon for our homeless to bathe in our creeks.
The result of the lack of access is that many homeless suffer from alienation and preventable skin infections, wound infections.
Our goal is to help restore their dignity – something that’s lost on the street.
Yokefellow is passionate about helping our neighbors in need. We believe the dignity that comes with being and feeling clean is a human right, and a need that every person desires and deserves to be met.
Yokefellow’s weekly on-site shower program will provide free mobile shower access and hygiene products who are moving through homelessness. The shower schedule will transition into the afternoon Yoke-to-Go mealtime. Time spent with these neighbors cultivates relationships and from there, we can discover people’s greater needs.
Shower guests will be given 15 minutes, and Yokefellow provides them with any supplies they need, and those items – except for towels and washcloths – are theirs to keep.
Yokefellow adopted a fresh Mission Statement last year. “We are Yokefellow, a faith-based crisis ministry. Where there is a need, we work to meet it. Where our neighbors are hurting, we seek to provide aid. We are the faith community helping our community. We are Yokefellow.”
This Mobile Shower project exemplifies our mission in action.