The barbers of Rome were among the first to get on board with the Vatican’s plan for a beautiful and useful facility near St. Peter’s Square where people experiencing homelessness can get cleaned up. The hair specialists have donated barber chairs and other necessary equipment, and have pledged their time and talents. Haircuts are offered on Mondays, and showers six days a week, at the historic location that opened earlier this month.
Monsignor Konrad Krajewski, the papal almoner (person in charge of giving alms), handed out 400 sleeping bags in December and 300 umbrellas that had been left by visitors to the Vatican’s various museums. Regarding the new cleanliness center, his office announced:
Our pilgrims without a home will receive, along with a shower, a complete change of underwear and a kit with a towel, soap, toothpaste, razor, shaving cream and deodorant, according to different individual needs.
The financing comes from businesses, individuals, and the sale of “parchments certifying a papal blessing,” says writer Carol Glatz, who adds more good news:
The Vatican communiqué said the St. Peter’s shower project is part of a larger initiative, in partnership with local parishes, to install similar amenities throughout the city in areas where there are soup kitchens and large numbers of homeless people.
The Catholic Herald page also presents a concise, one-minute video tour of the new shower facilities. House the Homeless has mentioned Pope Francis before, because of HtH founder Richard R. Troxell’s collaboration with Timothy P. Schmalz, the Canadian artist who created the sculpture “Jesus the Homeless.” Casts of it can now be found in many American cities, and when a smaller-scale version visited the Vatican, the Pope looked favorably upon it. If Rome’s city government approves, a full-size statue may be placed along the Via della Conziliazione.
Showers and Flip Flops in America
In the summer of 2014, six teenagers in Savannah, Georgia, wanted to do something useful, so they asked around and learned that the Inner City Night Shelter and the Social Apostalate could use shower shoes. While both facilities offered showers to people experiencing homelessness, their budgets didn’t stretch to preventative measures against athlete’s foot. So the kids raised money for 3,200 pairs of flip-flops.
In July, Bethany Grace Community Church in Bridgeton, New Jersey, inaugurated a shower and clean underwear program, church-open-shower-program-homeless/12119441/open two hours every Saturday morning.
The picture at the top of this page is from Project WeHOPE, in Palo Alto, California, which is currently raising funds for the Dignity on Wheels project. The organization hopes to put its trailer on the road, bringing restrooms, showers, and washing machines to those in need.
WeHOPE opened a full-time shelter in November, and plans to send a nurse or a case manager along with the hygiene trailer when it starts up. Like San Francisco’s Lava Mae project, in addition to helping people directly, the intention is relieve the local hospitals by providing some prevention and intervention, reducing the overall amount of illness.
Reactions?
Source: “Vatican unveils free showers and haircuts for the homeless,” CatholicHerald.co.uk, 02/07/15
Source: “Flip Flop Drop Provides Shower Shoes to the Homeless in Georgia,” People.com, 07/24/14
Source: “Church to open shower program for homeless,” TheDailyJournal.com. 07/04/14
Source: “This Really Simple Idea Could Change Homeless People’s Lives,” ThinkProgress.org, 02/03/15
Image by Dignity on Wheels
