Chamber of Knowledge is hosting an informational meeting at the Brentwood Library, 8109 Concord Road, Brentwood about ShowerUP on Sunday, September 16 at 2 p.
ShowerUP is a non-profit founded by Spring Hill resident, Paul Schmitz. Schmitz has worked with the homeless community for many years, serving meals, providing clothing and so on, but he noticed that while many community members and organizations help provide things like clothing, food and temporary shelter to the homeless, showers were not available.
“There are anywhere between 2,000-4,000 homeless men, women and children in the Nashville area at any given time. For those that are living in tents, under bridges, in their cars or otherwise without shelter, they have very limited access to shower facilities. Many will go not only days but weeks without a shower or any kind of personal care. While our first thought might be about some of the physical results of that kind of neglect, the emotional toll is even greater,” says Schmitz.
Having the ability to shower isn’t purely about hygiene, Schmitz says.
“Hope vanishes. Dignity disappears. Despair sets in. Most of us have access to a hot shower whenever we want. It energizes the start to our day, it clears away the grime from a hard day’s work, it’s relaxing and stress-reducing. For those that live on the street, a hot shower is just one more thing that they can’t provide for themselves and it boxes them in. If they are able to get a day-labor job, they will go back to their tent dirty and wake up the next day still dirty. They can’t get a regular job because they just don’t know when they will be clean and presentable again. Â We want to restore hope and dignity. We want to share love with those who feel marginalized and we want to invite others to join us in this endeavor.”
Register online here for the event. Those interested in attending are asked to bring travel size items which can be used to assemble a “shower kit” – shampoo conditioner soap/body wash bath pouf/washcloth deodorant shaving cream (Razors are provided courtesy of Dorco USA) toothbrush & toothpaste. Additional items can include: Q-tips, non-alcohol mouthwash, lotion, comb/brush, feminine hygiene products, etc.
