The means to maintain personal hygiene is an essential component of personal dignity and something the OC is proud to help provide thanks to a new partnership getting off the ground in Bellingham. Working with the Lighthouse Mission, and Salvation Army, the Homeless Outreach Team is now a part of Shower Connect, a weekly event that helps people access free showers and hygiene supplies via the Lighthouse Mission’s shower truck.    

Showers don’t just help everyone stay healthy and hygienic – they also make us feel like ourselves and feel able to put our best foot forward. The recently announced partnership, offers free shower services every Thursday 9 A.M. to 3 P.M. to anyone looking to freshen up or connect with other services.  

“We want to be able to offer hygiene services and allow people the dignity and respect to be clean and feel good!” said Marisa Schoeppach, manager of our Homeless Outreach Team. 

The truck is located outside of the Salvation Army at 1515 Birchwood Avenue in Bellingham. Free showers, soap, towels, and other hygiene supplies are available for anyone interested.  

Meeting this vital need in our community is especially important so that people otherwise excused from services are treated with dignity. This ensures continuity of access to showers, as the shower program at the Bellingham municipal pool will be ending at the end of August. 

For more details about the program, please visit the Shower Connect page.  

Shower Connect accepts donations of unused travel-sized hygiene items such as shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, mouthwash, sunscreen and period products. Please no bulky or highly fragranced items. Donations may be dropped off at 1419 Cornwall Ave during our regular business hours or purchased directly from the Homeless Outreach Team’s Amazon WishList.  

To help ensure no one in our community is left behind, donate directly to the Homeless Outreach Team. Other ideas on how you can help? Contact ocdonations@nulloppco.org or call (360) 734-5121 x 1332. 

The Lighthouse Mission Shower Connect trailer and its accompanying van sit stationed outside the Bellingham Salvation Army on Birchwood Ave.

People, who are members of Opportunity Council's Homeless Outreach Team, stand under the shade of a fabric tent around a folding table helping a client in a wheelchair. The corner of a trailer, the Shower Connect Truck, is visible in the frame. Orange construction cones are visible in the background, in the parking lot where the tent and trailer are located, and people gather near the entrance of the warehouse building in the background, the Salvation Army.

Our Homeless Outreach Team (HOT) staffs the Lighthouse Mission Shower Connect program that runs every Thursday. Marisa Schoeppach, director of HOT, talks to a program guest.

The Shower Connect trailer contains two shower areas, each equipped with bathroom amenities and hygiene supplies.