PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — After Tampa Bay 28 helped raise over $3,800 for an organization called Shower Up, the organization is now expanding.
The organization provides free showers for people in need and opened its first location in St. Petersburg.
Watch report from Casey Albritton
Arlena Massey has been homeless for a few years.
"I always had a place where I could sleep, where I could cook where I could clean my clothes, clean my own body…once you start losing that, you really start slipping away a little bit," said Massey.
Something she doesn’t take for granted is a hot shower.
"I want to shine up. I want to be shiny and I can’t do that without the ability to wash my body and comb my hair," said Massey.
For the unhoused community, a shower is hard to come by.
"If you have a white face cloth, then it comes back black, and especially on my neck or the parts that are exposed mostly, like my face and my shoulders. I don’t like to be dirty," said Massey.
But now, with the help of an organization called Shower Up, she’s able to take a moment and rinse off.
"I hear it, and it never gets old…’I feel human again,'" said Dali Vargas with Shower Up.
Shower Up provides free showers to people in need and also supplies them with hygiene products and towels.
Vargas said people contacted her about the need for more services for the unhoused population in Pinellas County and now the organization is opening its first location in St. Pete at the St. Petersburg First United Methodist Church.
"One of the things I heard a lot was people saying ‘I know where I can go eat, I know where I can get food, and I know where I can get shelter, but where can I shower?’" said Vargas.
People said a shower means more than just getting clean and rinsing off that day.
"It gives me hope, it makes me feel better about myself for sure," said Massey.
Vargas said she hopes to expand the organization's reach even more. To help with that effort, you can donate here.
Share Your Story with Casey
Casey Albritton is dedicated to telling your stories throughout Pinellas County. From South St. Petersburg to Tarpon Springs, she’s there to share the triumphs and struggles of the community she calls home. So, let Casey know about the stories that matter to you.
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