The Scoop
the public’s radio | so & so | rhody pets | calendar | rhody gem
HOPE STARTS WITH A WARM SHOWER From hair cuts to permanent housing, a Warwick nonprofit is addressing homelessness in RI “Homelessness doesn’t discriminate,” begins Kelsey Lewin, a volunteer with Warwick-based House of Hope, a nonprofit organization working in local communities to try to end homelessness. “It’s easy to forget that when you’re on the other side of it. These are people with all different stories, backgrounds, journeys.” Lewin and her team from Shamrock Home Loans donate their time with House of Hope’s mobile hygiene program Shower to Empower, which offers basic needs ranging from showers to haircuts at no charge. The program also includes on-site case management and medical services to those experiencing homelessness. “Shower to Empower is an innovative approach to delivering services,” according to House of Hope’s executive director Laura Jaworski. “We want to meet our clients where they are, and this mobile approach really works to connect us to people out in the community.” With sites in Pawtucket, Providence, West Warwick, and Woonsocket, the program runs Monday through Friday at locations in the community accessible to House of Hope clients. Photo courtesy of House of Hope SORhodeIsland.com • December 2022
7
