Mobile ministry brings portable showers, washing machines to homeless

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There's a transformative power that a hot shower can give you, and most people take it for granted. 

A local ministry is bringing that power to a group of people often overlooked: the homeless.

Showered and Empowered is a mobile ministry with portable showers and washer/dryer units. Owner Christina Jenkins drives to where the homeless are to let them experience the transformation of having a hot shower and clean clothes.

"I went back to school to get my bachelors in ministry [and] we had to come up with something that was a need in the community," Jenkins said.

Her idea was mobile showers for the homeless, and as a bonus, she operates two washer and dryer units to do their laundry while they are getting cleaned up.

"I think it means more to them than anything," she said of the ministry. 

Because the ministry is mobile, "We go to where the need is," Jenkins said.

The clients get 12 minutes in the shower to get fresh and clean, be it for a job interview or a housing interview. They can have their clothes laundered at the same time.

"People are very prejudiced, and if you have an aroma about you, they're not as welcoming as if you are clean and fresh," she explained.

As for the transformative effect of that hot shower, Jenkins asked a client, "So how does it feel?"

"I feel like a brand-new person," he said.

"Brand new person, awesome!" Jenkins replied.

That is what she said the ministry is all about: changing lives with just something as simple as a hot shower.

To support Showered and Empowered or find out where the will be visiting next, check out their website by clicking here.