BEDFORD, VA – A hot shower and a clean pair of clothes — a lot of us don’t give it a second thought.
“The only time I felt like a human was when I got to take a shower once a week,” Shower-n-Suds Volunteer Jenn Bowen said.
But when you’re without a home, showering can be a luxury.
Jenn Bowen knows this feeling firsthand.
“I got hooked on drugs while I was a social worker. And I went from a child protective services investigator to actually homeless in Las Vegas. I was actually on the streets for two years,” Bowen said.
One of the things that Bowen remembers most about that time? A free shower truck that would come once a week.
“They had clean towels and people talked to you like you were human. It was just such a nice respite from the normal hard life on the street,” she said.
Now over one year sober — Bowen remembers that kindness, and is looking to rinse and repeat it.
She volunteers her time at a new ministry in Bedford called ‘Shower-n-Suds.’
“What we hope to do here is give people a chance to prepare themselves for the heat of the day by starting off clean, and having some clean clothes to transition to,” founder Tim Brooke said.
Brooke is a member of St. John’s Episcopal Church and one of the founders of Shower-n-Suds.
It’s still a new operation, but Brooke says the few people who have come through so far are grateful.
“We’re here to be good disciples of Christ,” he said.
For Bowen, it’s a chance to connect with people who are facing hardships like she was just a few short years ago.
“I think it makes people feel more at ease and it’s more of a safe space knowing that it’s not just people that are on the outside,” she said.
There are no barriers to the services. You can come in on Mondays and Wednesdays from 7-11 a.m. They have everything you need from toiletries to towels, to laundry detergent.
“There’s not many places that you can just take a shower free of charge, and especially to do your clothes for free? That’s great too,” Bowen said.
Bowen tells 10 News the most rewarding part of volunteering is doing it alongside her mom.
“Oh gosh, it’s so wonderful to have a relationship with my mom again. It was really hard, and it’s great being back in her life because there were so many times she didn’t even know if I was alive,” she said.
Shower-n-Suds is open each Monday and Wednesday from now until August 26. You can drop by any time from 7-11 a.m. at 112 Center Street in Bedford.
If you have questions or want to volunteer to host or donate money, contact Tim Brooke at copinbedford@gmail.com. They are also looking for donations of small, new toiletry items.