Meet shower Outreach Project 2018

Meet The Shower Outreach Project!

Battle Ground City Councilor Cherish DesRochers, Community Service Northwest Case Manager Jamie Spinelli, and their non-profit group Food with Friends are working hard along with some other committed advocates such as Chuck Goneau - and they are all doing something really needed in our community right now. They are bringing showers to our homeless on the street.

Accessible showers are at a bare minimum here in Vancouver, Wa. for our homeless. The showers at the local shelter house closed due to building issues and it has made getting a full-body clean almost impossible. The Shower Outreach Project is meeting that need head on. They worked hard to put together a specialized trailer that has two showers with changing rooms attached. The water is heated via two propane tanks and the access point can hook directly to a hose. And oooh man! The warm water feels good! -- and they share these lovely showers with our friends on the street, for no charge. They know that being clean means having the opportunity to be healthy or perhaps being ready for a connection that could bring work or stability. Either way, they are helping people on the streets GET A SHOWER AND FEEL BETTER


~ Adam & Ren

Meet Daniel 2018

Meet Daniel

First thing is Thank You Daniel for being, brave, honest, and trusting enough to allow me the opportunity to get to know you over the years and for allowing us to share your journey with everyone else. Daniel was convicted of a crime when he was 18 and he is and will carry the stigma and struggle that comes with those choices for the rest of his life. Being a survivor myself, I understand how and where a lot of bad choices come from, and that ultimately as adults, we have to take responsibility no matter what. Daniel does that, and has been struggling to survive on our streets for almost 20 years. The street is a place where you learn no matter what label you carry, it is your integrity and respect that will carry you forward. And as the song goes, “you may not get what you want, but if you keep on trying, you will usually get what you need.”

Department of Corrections works to keep probation and parolees doing what they are supposed to be doing. So recently when Daniel didn’t keep his ankle bracelet charged up and he seemed to be off the radar, of course they had to violate him and give him more days in jail. That led to county work crews finding his camp and removing all his things when he did not return soon enough to obey posted signs. So therein lies the endless cycle of how can some people struggle to find some amount of consistency, recovery, or hope in life. Daniel’s gentle, respectful, and typically happy demeanor can only go to show if he can do it, anyone can do it. Keep on believing in yourself, in others and the world Daniel, because we believe in you!

~ Adam & Ren

Meet LuLu 2018

Meet LuLu

We met "LuLu" at Project Homeless Connect while she waited on her turn to go thru the doors and learn about more resources. She was there to find housing options to get her and her baby due who is due in August into a safer situation. Right now, she and her boyfriend are living in a motor home that "has a lot of leaks and is not that great, but it's not on the streets!", she said proudly. But she knows she wants better than those leaks to bring her baby home, so they were at the resource event to find hope.

She and her boyfriend, Daren, have been working hard supporting each other to stay positive on their recovery journeys and they both had a lot of smiles for each other. She has been sober since December and he is now digging in and working hard to follow in her footsteps of getting clean, too. They both feel good that they have plans in action working to get healthier for themselves and their new family. Lulu shared with me that she has had more than a couple of dreams that baby will be a little boy and she has big hopes that those dreams are true. We join her in those wishes that all of the dreams come true and that they will all be able to stay in a healthy and happy home.

~ Adam & Ren