Sunnyside Shower Project for Portlanders living on the street expands to two southwest neighborhoods

When SE Portland resident Hannah Wallace went out with members of her neighborhood association in December of 2020 and asked  people living on the streets what they needed most, the two things they heard most were: showers and laundry facilities. Wallace started the Sunnyside Shower project in response. The project began at Sunnyside Methodist Church with Wallace and a handful of volunteer offering showers twice a week. It now has dozens of volunteers and people can come 3 days a week to get a shower and other resources when available, like free toiletries, laundry cards and help connecting with other services, like the Oregon Health Plan and drug treatment.

Since it began, a Multnomah Village’s volunteer group Southwest Outreach began their own version at Riversgate Church. And in February, a new Shower Project opened at the 13 Salmon shelter at the First Unitarian Church. Kelly Clendenon began volunteering several years ago, helped launch the project with some guidance from Wallace and others, and is now the project’s coordinator. He says as a person who lived on the streets for many years himself, his current work is especially meaningful. Clendenon and Wallace join us to tell us more about what it takes to run these projects and what difference one shower can make for someone who would otherwise have no access.