Culture
Bringing Showers on Wheels to the Homeless
People can line up to rinse off in a truck making its way through St. Louis.
Twice a week in St. Louis, at around 5 p.m., a line begins to form in front of a truck. The people waiting are all homeless. Most haven’t had a shower in over a month, but that’s what awaits them when they reach the front of the line.
Since it officially launched in May, the Shower to the People truck has been making its way around St. Louis, docking in various locations on Monday and Thursday evenings. The project’s founder, Jake Austin, says that in a typical five-hour shift, as many as 50 people queue up for a shower, and they’re able to accommodate all of them. By the end of August, Austin hopes to expand services to four nights a week, and stretch the shifts out to eight hours.