Clean the World Foundation’s Fresh Start WASH & Wellness Mobile Shower program has been providing warm showers, hygiene supplies, and additional support services since 2017 to individuals experiencing homelessness.
Our program continues to expand across the United States, with two new locations in California recently joining the fight against hygiene insecurity. The Fresh Start WASH & Wellness program currently operates a total of 8 mobile shower trailers that provide WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) and wellness (medical testing, vaccinations, and illness prevention) services in six cities and counties across the country. Since the beginning of 2023, we, in coordination with our loyal service partners, have already provided 1,597 showers; distributed 2,132 hygiene kits; hosted 16 special events; donated 177 articles of clothing; and provided 369 meals.
Stories from the Field
Meet Ivan Mays, one of our regular shower guests at the JUMP INN Drop In Center in Orlando, FL. Ivan recently stated:
“[The shower services] give me more self-respect, more self-esteem, makes me all around feel better. The girls that come are very nice. It’s just something that we need. We need to take showers. It can be two or three weeks in between showers, and now it’s twice a week. It’s awesome. It makes me feel a lot better, a lot better about myself, more human.”
Tamela Mitchell, a case manager at the JUMP INN Drop In Center, also shared her sentiments:
“Thank you so much for partnering with us at JUMP INN Drop In Center for the Homeless. You have made such an incredible impact on our homeless friends.
I have had some tell me that before you started coming once a week, they had to go up to three weeks at a time between showers. Others even longer. I have had many tell me that they felt “like a brand-new man” after getting shower services from Clean the World. I have witnessed with my own eyes the transformation, sometimes after just one shower, and sometimes a greater transformation after many weeks of showers. One man, in particular, that comes to mind had a long, shaggy beard, very dirty, and drunk most of the time. He began coming and showering, and, at first, he was just clean. Then, after a few weeks, he began trimming his beard. After a couple more weeks, he had shaved it close, and, last week, I noticed that while in the shower, he had turned it into a goatee. He looked so nice and so much more confident. I do not know if the shower had anything to do with his not drinking so much, but the last couple of times I spoke to him, he was not drunk!
Thank you again for all you do and for the love you show our guests. You are changing the world one shower at a time!”
Join the Fight Against Hygiene Insecurity
We encourage YOU to become part of the fight against hygiene insecurity by supporting the Fresh Start WASH & Wellness Mobile Shower program.
As an individual, you can easily make a contribution of any amount, at any time, as often as you would like. Each donation goes a long way toward helping turn somebody’s life around.