Showered With Love

Hot showers, shaving stations, new socks and underwear, hygiene kits, towels, and soap for showering are offered each Monday through Thursday to the unhoused women and men in Lodi and Stockton by three women and their volunteers. In five years, Showered with Love Mobile Showers has provided over 20,000 showers to the men and women who come to regain a sense of humanity, dignity, and respect. How is this possible?

One morning in November 2019, as I was reading the Stockton Record, I came across an article about a new service for the unsheltered called Showered with Love Mobile Showers. Three women envisioned remodeling a bus by adding one ADA and two standard shower stalls with “a commitment of serving the greater Stockton and Lodi area with no cost shower opportunities to our homeless.” In the article was an invitation to an information session to learn about their mission, and to seek volunteers and donations of new socks, underwear, and hygiene kits. For some reason, this article tugged at my heart. So I decided to go to the information session with my contributions of new underwear and socks.

In listening to Mary speak about the mission of “Changing Lives, One Hot Shower at a Time,” I was hooked. I went to the site nearest to us and offered to volunteer. Mary, Lori, and Kelly were very welcoming to have me join the group of volunteers. I was able to clean the showers after each guest, offer clean socks and underwear to the guests, and be around to welcome them. Each Tuesday and Thursday, I was able to go to two of the sites in Stockton.

When I could no longer clean the showers, I was asked to write thank you notes to the faithful donors. People are so generous with their financial support or donations of socks, underwear, hygiene kits, clothing, shoes, and food. A group of women prepare and bring hot food and coffee to the various sites every week. All of these supporters assist in continuing the mission of love and care for the unsheltered community of Stockton and Lodi.

Many of the guests have been able to find housing or work through the service agencies that come to each of the sites to offer their assistance in helping to change lives.
In 2020, the congregation also supported Showered with Love with a grant from the Dominican Sisters of San Rafael Vision Fund.

So how is it possible to “change lives, one hot shower at a time” for so many people? It is through the vision of three courageous and faith-filled women, the many generous supporters, and the dedicated volunteers! And the women and men who come to receive the gifts offered.