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http://www.valleybreeze.com/2019-08-13/pawtucket/soupman-kelleher-wants-bring-showers-pawtucket

PAWTUCKET – An out-of-state philanthropist with a heart for the homeless says he’s prepared to bring his mobile shower unit to serve Pawtucket’s homeless residents on a weekly basis.

Peter Kelleher, also known as “the Soupman,” says all he needs are a location for his three-bay shower, with access to a hose or fire hydrant for water, and a corporate sponsor to help cover the cost.

Kelleher, whose son Travis died in 2016 following a battle with addiction, first began serving soup to the homeless a year later as a way to turn his family’s tragedy into something good. That effort based in Massachusetts has grown since, with Kelleher and his Support the Soupman Corp. expanding to bring clothes, toiletries and showers to those less fortunate.

Kelleher said he read in last week’s edition of The Valley Breeze about the continued lack of shower access for city homeless residents, including some who hadn’t taken showers since a shower program on Dexter Street shut down June 28. That reality, he said, simply isn’t acceptable, and he wants to do something about it.

“The sooner we can get down there, the better off everyone is,” he said. “Everyone needs a shower.”

Kelleher now has two buses and a portable shower at his disposal. Homeless are given toiletry bags, including deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, body wash, and a change of clothes. Ocean State Job Lot has been very generous in making it all possible, he said.

“We have 9,000 pairs of boots and we don’t know what to do with them all,” he said. “It’s just been incredible.”

The growing charity will soon come out with a line of quality foods, he said.

The ultimate goal, Kelleher said, is to launch a shower program in every major city in New England, leased to nonprofits. His first shower unit visits Brockton, Mass., every Monday and Taunton, Mass., every Thursday, he said, but another day could work for Pawtucket. After purchasing its first shower last November, the organization is now working on an agreement to bring the showers to Quincy, Mass., on Wednesdays.

“I want to use five days a week, maybe six,” he said.

He’s partnering with Tufts on a shower for Bangor, Maine, where his son died, and there are also talks about bringing mobile showers to Boston.

“We need sponsors, we need money,” he said.

Kelleher previously ran a dog daycare and now takes only $350 per week as pay from the nonprofit. He can do that, he said, because his wife has a great job and allows him to. He said he’s been given a gift from God and wants to share it with others.

This charity is about people helping people, with no egos involved or credit needed.

“That is what it’s about for me,” said Kelleher.

Pawtucket officials have been discussing for more than a month how to bring back showers for the homeless in Pawtucket after the Pawtucket Central Falls Development’s move to bring office space at its Dexter Street location to replace the showers previously housed there. House of Hope’s ACCESS-RI program moved to a new location on Roosevelt Avenue, but that location doesn’t offer showers.

For more on Kelleher’s efforts, visit www.supportthesoupman.org

Soupman’s Portable Showers Help Homeless in Taunton

By Charles Winokoor
Taunton Gazette Staff Reporter
6/29/2019

TAUNTON – They were scrub-a-dub-dubbing Friday morning on the grounds of Saint Thomas Episcopal Church.

“Everyone deserves to take a shower and put on clean socks, no matter what they’ve done,” said Peter Kelleher, also known as Soupman, as he stood near his three-stall, portable shower unit on wheels.

Kelleher, 58, has been on a goodwill tour assisting homeless people, or anyone else on the streets in need of a helping hand, since September 2016 when his drug-addicted son Travis died of an overdose in Bangor, Maine.

A few months later, Kelleher, who lives in Bridgewater, began using an old Toyota pickup truck to deliver gallons of his homemade soup — stocked with ground beef, carrots, celery, onions and macaroni — to the homeless and street people in Brockton.

“I had to do something,” Kelleher said, describing how his son’s death motivated him to help other people in the throes of addiction or homelessness.

Kelleher said he adopted his popular moniker six weeks into his altruistic endeavor when a Brockton woman on the street announced: “Hey, the soup man’s here!”

Since then, Kelleher has handed out hundreds of backpacks full of day-to-day supplies and clothing, both donated and bought.

He also eventually created a nonprofit group called Soupman Corp., which opened the floodgates for sponsorships and corporate donations.

Kelleher says his portable shower unit, which he pulls with a Ford F150 pickup truck, cost nearly $50,000, including a $4,500 generator donated by Honda Motor Co.

He said he was inspired to purchase a portable shower vehicle one day a year and a half ago in Brockton, as he and his lawyer were standing downwind from a group of homeless people enjoying his soup.

“I said, ‘These people stink — we’ve got to do something about it,’” Kelleher said, as he pet his Australian Shepherd service dog Koji.

Friday’s visit to Saint Thomas Episcopal Church marked the first time he’s brought his portable shower vehicle to the Silver City.

The weather was hot and muggy, and more than 30 men and women, he said, took advantage of his offer to disrobe in privacy, take all the time they needed to shower and leave with a free towel and clothes.

“I enjoyed it. I feel better,” said Michael Alifonso, 37, who said he’s not living on the street, but for now is staying at a friend’s apartment where the water heater recently broke.

“The people are extraordinarily grateful,” said Mitch Zucker, a board member of Kelleher’s nonprofit group and an employee of Nerds to Go in Taunton — which serves as one of about 10 drop-off points in the region for donated clothes and sneakers.

Zucker could be seen Friday with a hand pump and container full of a water-and-bleach solution spraying and sanitizing each shower stall after it was used.

One shower-unit entrance has an attached metal ramp so as to be handicapped-accessible.

All three units have a changing area with a clothes hanger. The showers, meanwhile, are stocked with liquid soap, shampoo and conditioner.

In addition to the mobile unit and pickup truck, Kelleher also uses a small school bus that has been converted into a clothing-and-food pantry vehicle.

Both that and a larger school bus were previously donated to the Soupman by the owner of Lucini Transportation of Bridgewater.

Kelleher said his stop-off in Taunton was made possible by an invitation extended by Maribeth Ferreira, director of Our Daily Bread Food and Resource Center located in the church.

And although it was only the fourth time he’s used the showers — since he took delivery of the mobile unit made by Illinois-based Comforts of Home Services Inc. — Kelleher says he’s been getting requests from other cities to pay a visit this summer.

Friday’s visit was sponsored by First Citizens’ Federal Credit Union, whose business development officer Tom Talbot says helped organize the event.

Talbot says he’s been volunteering at the church, along with Raynham branch manager Aleece Silva, who sits on the board of Our Daily Bread, by teaching a basic financial literacy class.

He stressed that Kelleher’s visit was intended to bring attention to Our Daily Bread Food and Resource Center — which besides a weekday soup kitchen also includes a “resource center” that, among other things, features free computer and self-esteem classes.

Kelleher said his shower on wheels can be hooked up either to a fire hose or to a water tap by means of garden hose.

He says it’s equipped with a 250-gallon fresh-water holding tank and a 300-gallon tank for “grey water” — dirty, although not contaminated, water collected from the showers, which is then emptied into a municipal drain.

“It’s like washing a car,” he said.

Kelleher’s mobile unit is decorated with a number of names of donors, all of whom have donated money to the cause, including a $35,000 donation made by the estate of Russell E. Pierce.

He also said Ocean State Job Lot has been a major donor and backer of his endeavors.

Kelleher says his goal, with the help of his board, is to establish a Soupman charitable foundation.

He also urged everyone with a spare pair of sneakers sitting in their closet to donate them.

Kelleher said he keeps a close eye on everyone who picks out free clothing and sneakers from his tables set up near the mobile showers.

Unfortunately, he said, there are people who try to take advantage of his good intentions.

“Last week, a guy wearing new sneakers drove up in a $40,000 beamer (BMW) and thought he could take some (used) sneakers,” Kelleher said. “I don’t put up with that. It’s not why I’m here.”

The now-retired Maine native said the memory of his son continues to inspire and drive him.

“That such a beautiful thing could come from such a tragedy,” Kelleher said. “My son is pulling me to work. He’s having the last laugh. It’s my passion, my pride.”

Kelleher also has a Facebook page for his nonprofit group called Support The Soupman Corp.

Team Effort Bringing Portable Shower To Homeless in Taunton

Amanda Souza, Mitch Zucker, Kim Chermesino, and Peter Kelleher were in Brockton with their brand-new portable shower vehicle on June 10, 2019. They are bringing the portable shower to Taunton on Friday, June 28th.  [Alyssa Stone/The Enterprise]

TAUNTON — First Citizens’ in conjunction with Our Daily Bread Soup Kitchen & Resource Center and Support the Soupman will be hosting an event on June 28 geared to providing resources to those who are homeless or at risk.

Our Daily Bread will have its normal offerings: a hot breakfast followed by a hot lunch. For this event, the Soupman team will arrive at 10 a.m. with its portable shower and hand out necessities to the clients. Our Daily Bread will be planning a summer inspired BBQ lunch menu.

The community is encouraged to bring donations such as summer wear, towels and toiletries. If you are interested in learning more about this event or would like to volunteer, email Aleece Silva at aleece.silva@firstcitizens.org. The event will be held at Our Daily Bread soup kitchen at St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 111 High St., Taunton, on Friday, June 28 from 9a.m. to 3p.m.

By Corlyn Voorhees 

The Enterprise