A mobile service for those in need of a shower or hygiene products is facing uncertainty after being left out of the revised $14 billion city budget, threatening its funding.
“The Shower of Hope” is a city-funded service that provides mobile showers and resources to people in need, contracted under LA Sanitation’s Care Mobile Hygiene Unit program.
“In the last 12 months, May to April of this year, we did over 37,000 showers, 23,000 being on Skid Row,” said Mel Tillekeratne, founder and executive director of Shower of Hope.
Brandon McGage, who has been living in the streets of Hollywood for about three years, says the service is a lifeline for him after struggling with limited mobility due to a pinched nerve in his right leg.
“The showers are what I depend on for that,” said McGage. “It’s helped my mental health greatly, which has helped me even pursue employment.”
The mobile units are deployed in several areas, Hollywood being the second busiest, along with Skid Row and South LA.
“A lot of the folks that come to us, they will take a shower and go to work. These are the people who work in our restaurants, these are the people who do DoorDash,” said Tillekeratne. “These are the people we see every day, we don’t know they are homeless because they get to use this service.”
The program receives $2.3 million in funding. Under the new and approved $14 billion budget, the program was left out, although the budget has not been finalized yet.
The proposed cut would take it down to zero, with funding expected to run out by the end of next month, according to its founder.
Mayor Bass’s office says the initial proposed budget included full funding for the mobile hygiene program prior to last week’s city council vote.
“It serves to different neighborhoods in our district,” Councilmember Hugo Soto-Martinez, who filed a motion asking the city to find the funding. “If we can’t fund it or fully fund it through the city, we will be looking through other means, maybe try to get some philanthropic help, or maybe use discretionary funds.”
For now, people working for the program are hoping it will stay,
“This is something the people on our street deserve. Basic access to showers and bathrooms,” said Tillekeratne.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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