Catholic Charities is giving back to the homeless — and not just with food or money. They’re giving homeless residents self-respect and dignity and it’s all so inspirational.
Catholic Charities and the city of Santa Rosa teamed up a few months back to purchase and operate a trailer with showers and bathrooms for the homeless to use. The trailer goes around different areas within the city and social workers are positioned at each location to further assist the homeless beyond showers.
We were able to catch up with Jennielynn Holmes, Director of Shelter and Housing at Catholic Charities, to discuss how the trailers have been doing since its initial launch.
How many homeless residents have been served since the launch of the trailers? How have they reacted to the trailers?
We’re averaging about 30 showers a visit and we’ve done 10 visits so far. They are so incredibly grateful. [A shower and bathroom] was one of the most requested things from [the] homeless.
How have homeless residents been helped beyond hygienic measures?
The whole idea behind the trailers was to provide the dignity of a shower [and] the hope of a restroom, but we also wanted to use it as an engagement tool to build trusting relationships and bring people into services. [Our] street outreach team [is] having conversations with people and starting to build those relationships to get them off the streets.
Are you planning to expand the locations of where the trailer goes to?
[We] probably will expand it in June. [Our city council is] getting requests from every part of the county. Our goal is to increase [the] number of trailers, to have them open more often, and open in parts of different communities.
How do you think the simple act of providing showers for homeless people will help the community?
Sometimes when [you’re] at home and [you] have a bad day, you just want to hop in the shower. Imagine not having a shower — the comfort of a short shower helps you feel clean and human again. [It can also] help homeless people to connect [with] the community and to themselves.
What can we do to help lessen the stigma of homeless people?
There [are] a few things we can do. The first is to understand that homelessness is complex and there are stereotypes out there that aren’t necessarily a blanket for the whole population. Getting to know the individuals’ stories will help paint that picture and [understand] that every single case is different. What’s also important to recognize [is] it’s not [only] a moral dilemma, [but] it’s also an economic dilemma. We did a study on a man in Reno and by not housing this gentleman, it costs $1 million to keep him on the streets and [the city] could’ve given him his own home [for] far less money. [However,] we [can] get together as a community and address [these issues].
xx, The FabFitFun Team
