Showers For The Homeless
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New portable shower location for homeless launched in Pawtucket
Philanthropist Peter “The Soupman” Kelleher brings bins of clothing and a shower trailer to Pawtucket on Thursday for the launch of the location which will be available to the homeless on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon at 345 Barton Street.
Showers and services available for homeless at Barton Street location
Showers and services available for homeless at Barton Street location
Peter Kelleher, of Massachusetts-based Support the Soupman Corp., and his dog Koji, in front of Kelleher’s mobile shower units located on Barton Street, in Pawtucket.
10/1/2019
PAWTUCKET – The city’s homeless residents once again have a place to go for a warm shower, a haircut, and more, now on Barton Street, thanks to two separate organizations.
Officials last Thursday kicked off the city’s new portable shower location at 345 Barton St. On Tuesdays, from 9 a.m. to noon, Peter Kelleher, of Massachusetts-based Support the Soupman Corp., will have his mobile showers set up on site, while on Thursday mornings, starting this week, House of Hope CDC will have one of itsShower to Empower mobile units at the same location.
Kelleher brought his mobile showers to Pawtucket for the first time on Sept. 12, and approximately 12 to 20 people used the showers each week for the first two weeks, according to Support the Soupman’s Operations Manager Chris Gewlas.
In late June, House of Hope had to close down its Dexter Street location, which included showers, and hadbeen working to find a way to bring showers back for the city’s homeless. Employees have been working out of a temporary office at 249 Roosevelt Ave., which doesn’t offer a shower facility. As a result, many of the city’s homeless residents went without showers this summer.
The organization’s Shower to Empower program has three mobile units in Providence, and Sara Melucci, outreach programs manager for House of Hope, said that they provided bus passes for Pawtucket residents to get to Providence this summer.
After reading about the situation in The Breeze this summer, Kelleher reached out to city officials, saying that all he needed was a location and a corporate sponsor to bring his mobile showers to Pawtucket.
“The Breeze got us here,” he said.
Ocean State Job Lot stepped in to sponsor the program, and David Sarlitto, executive director of Ocean State Job Lot and its charitable foundation, said that Kelleher has given his company a gift.
“This isn’t about us,” he said. “We’re happy to be a part of it.” Support the Soupman’s mobile unit has two shower stalls and one handicap shower stall and can put offer approximately 60 showers in a three-hour span, Gewlas said. The unit can run off a garden hose or fire hydrant. The organization will be on site through the winter, he said, with the only thing stopping them being inclement weather.
In addition to showers, soap, and shampoo, Support the Soupman hands out flip-flops, sneakers, clothes, towels, and snacks for those who need them. The organization also hands out survival backpacks during the colder months, including hats, scarves, hand and food warmers, protein bars, and more.
Last year Kelleher delivered approximately $47,000 worth of survival backpacks and said he hopes to hit $100,000 this year.
The Shower to Empower unit includes two shower stalls, a medical exam room, and open space for haircuts and other services. It offers showers, haircuts, basic needs items, foot care, medical services, healthcare system navigation, and bridges to case management.
Staff from its Pawtucket-based ACCESS-RI program will be available to provide case management services, Melucci said.
“The solution to homelessness is housing,” she said, but “a shower is the first step … people need their basic needs met.”
Also in attendance last Thursday was Vanessa Parent, of Lincoln, who owns Vanessa A Hair Salon on Central Avenue in Pawtucket and will be offering free haircuts to men and women every Tuesday, weather permitting, she said.
“We’re here ‘because we care,” she told The Breeze.Representatives from the PawSox Foundation were there last week to donate a $700 check to the shower program.
The Pawtucket Soup Kitchen has also expressed its support of the shower program.
In addition to Kelleher, Sarlitto, and Melucci, speaking at the kickoff were Thomas Hodge, the city’s homeless liaison, and Mayor Donald Grebien.
After explaining the situation that led to both organizations offering showers at the Barton Street location, Grebien said, “We want people to know they have a safe place to come.”
Kelleher founded Support the Soupman after his son Travis died in 2016 from a drug overdose.
“I had to do something to give back,” he said. “He was on the streets and didn’t need to be.”
Melucci said House of Hope is honored to be a part of the initiative on Barton Street.
The number of people impacted by homelessness is increasing, she said, adding that on any given night, 1,055 Rhode Islanders experience homelessness.
Kim Chermesino, a member of the board of directors for Support the Soupman, told The Breeze that driving around Pawtucket they’ve seen a serious homelessness problem.
“The whole board is excited to be in Pawtucket,” she said. “Peter wants (the city) to be the model of how we would like things to work.”
For more information about Support the Soupman, visit www.supportthesoupman.org .
For more on House of Hope, visit www.thehouseofhopecdc.org
‘Soupman’ dedicates homeless shower to Brockton, hands keys to mayor
‘Soupman’ dedicates homeless shower to Brockton, hands keys to mayor
The “Soupman,” Peter Kelleher, presented keys to his nonprofit’s portable shower to Brockton Mayor Moises Rodrigues, while rededicating himself to helping homeless people in the city.
BROCKTON – The portable shower for the homeless in Brockton is here to stay.
As his nonprofit expands its efforts in other cities around New England, “Soupman” Peter Kelleher ceremoniously presented keys to his nonprofit’s portable shower to Mayor Moises Rodrigues in front of City Hall on Tuesday, reaffirming his group’s mission of helping the homeless in the city. Kelleher started in 2017 by passing out cups of hot soup to the homeless in Brockton, as well as offering donated warm, clean clothes, later expanding his reach by forming the nonprofit Support the Soupman in 2018, then acquiring the portable shower unit earlier this year and rolling it out last month in Pawtucket.
“Brockton helped put us on the map,” said Kelleher, flanked by his dog Koji. “I’m not going anywhere soon.”
Kelleher said the portable shower is put in use every Monday morning in Brockton at The Haven, 74 Pleasant St., before going to Pawtucket on Tuesdays and Thursdays each week, and hitting Taunton on Fridays. While seeking more corporate donations and potential grants from communities, Kelleher said he’s still working to come out with a line of soups that people can buy in store to support the nonprofit’s endeavors to help the homeless. Kelleher started the nonprofit Support the Soupman in memory of his son, Travis, who was homeless and died of a drug overdose, at age 32, in 2016. For more information, go online to www.supportthesoupman.org.
Rodrigues said he was honored to accept the keys to the mobile shower unit on behalf of the city.
“Now I can go take a shower,” the mayor joked. “It’s a beautiful set up. I saw it the other day. I’m truly honored. I’m truly honored that someone by the fact that, whatever reasons got you here, you are here now with this kind of project, to help those who need it most in the community. … The issue of homelessness and drug use and people getting involved with addictions in our community is not going away. Chances are it’s going to get worse. It’s also important for us to band together to work … so the blow is not as significant as it could be.”
Rodrigues also pledged that, during his time as mayor, he would work with Support the Soupman to help the homeless in the city. Kelleher thanked Support the Soupman’s many corporate donors, mentioning a recent $7,000 donation from the Shields MRI company and its employees.
Helping out the Soupman
Abington High School Helping Out The Soupman
Emily Christian, Class of 2020
September 26, 2019
Recently, Kirstyn Deschamps, a senior and the president of the National Honor Society at Abington High School, led a campaign to assist a local man–the Soupman–in his charity. The Soupman hands out lunches in brown paper bags to local homeless people. For several weeks, students at Abington High school have been decorating the lunch bags with inspirational sayings and drawings.
If you are interested in assisting NHS with this project, please see Mrs. McHugh by the deadline: Friday, Sept. 27.
Mobile shower for city’s homeless sets up shop in Pawtucket
Mobile shower for city’s homeless sets up shop in Pawtucket
Peter Kelleher, known as “The Soupman,” started a non-profit in 2018 in memory of his son, Travis.
Kelleher, a Maine native, said circumstances forced his son to live on and off the streets. He passed away in 2016 after battling addiction.
He created “Support the Soupman” in an effort to help the homeless population by providing care backpacks filled with food, toiletries, clothes, water and other essentials.
When Kelleher’s non-profit gained traction, he quickly realized there was another necessity missing from their everyday lives: a place to shower.
But he knew he couldn’t just hand out showers like he did his care backpacks.
In November, Kelleher decided to order his first mobile shower. He said his goal is to ensure there is one in every major city in New England.
“People helping people is pretty simple, and that’s what it’s all about to me,” Kelleher said.
On Thursday, Pawtucket received one of Kelleher’s portable showers, which set up shop on Barton Street.
City officials tell Eyewitness News they reached out to Kelleher after a local non-profit, House of Hope CDC, was forced to move to a showerless location on Roosevelt Street.
House of Hope Program Manager Sara Melucci said they used to have showers at their Dexter Street location, among dozens of other services to help the city’s homeless population.
“While many have been able to temporarily access showers through our shower to empower unit in Providence, we at House of Hope recognize and value that folks should be able to have this basic need met at the community of their choice,” Melucci said.
The portable shower station will remain in Pawtucket for six months. It will be available on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 a.m. to noon.
Clothes, food, toiletries and haircuts will also be offered.
