Homeless invited to take part in ‘My Fresh Start’
Showers available to the homeless at Waldorf West Library
Homeless individuals are now being offered a way to start their day with the “My Fresh Start” free shower program in Charles County. LifeStyles Inc. has partnered with the Charles County Public Library to provide shower facilities once a month at the Waldorf West location for persons who are certified homeless beginning Friday, May 19.
“I am extremely excited about
this partnership. The only way we can meet the needs of those who are homeless is to work together and find non-traditional methods,” said Sandy Washington,
executive director of LifeStyles Inc.
“The library exists to serve the community,” said Janet Salazar, executive director of Charles County Public Library System. “We offer many different programs, materials and services for our community to engage, discover and learn. Offering
showers to this segment of our community is a continuation of our mission and ultimately our vision of connecting everyone to endless possibilities. Our partnership with LifeStyles has allowed us to help continue the discussion about homelessness in Charles County and to highlight the ways in
which the library can help our community.”
Every third Friday of the month from 9:30 a.m. to noon, homeless individuals will be permitted to use the showers at Waldorf West Library. The library is closed to the public during that time, said Corae Young, assistant director of LifeStyles.
“[Janet] Salazar has really been a tremendous blessing here in the county and is a great asset when it comes to housing the homeless and wanting to have the library more engaged,” Young said. “For the Point-In-Time Survey, we used the libraries as an outreach point to distribute items to the homeless and complete the surveys, and letting our homeless clients use the shower at Waldorf West Library. Later Salazar discussed further how we can use the shower on a regular basis to address