Harry Tompson Center

S.O.S. - Save Our Showers!

 

Since 2007, the Harry Tompson Center has been a critical low-barrier option for people experiencing homelessness in New Orleans to take a shower. After providing 60-80 showers every day for 14 years, our flooring has fallen into severe disrepair. We are asking for your help funding the completion of new flooring for our 10 showers so that we can continue to provide this crucial service to our guests.

 

 

 

What is Sunrise Shower Service?

 

Every morning, nearly 100 unhoused individuals make their way to the Harry Tompson Center. As each guest checks in, we greet them warmly and allow them to rest in our outdoor courtyard while awaiting their shower time. We provide them with a hygiene kit complete with soap, shampoo, a razor, a toothbrush, toothpaste, a soft towel and a washcloth before ushering them to a private shower where they can spend up to 30 minutes getting clean. Often, this is the only 30 minutes of their day when they can close a door and not worry about their personal safety. During sunrise shower service, guests can shave, use the restroom, brush their teeth, and get ready for their day ahead. Many guests rely on us as their only access point to cleanliness.

 

 

 

 

 

 

"It's impossible to shower when you're living on the streets. Can't go to no gas stations because don't have no money to buy something. There's no water, and if you find some water, then you gotta find a private place, maybe behind a dumpster or somewhere. But even then, you gotta be quick so you don't get arrested, assaulted, or have your stuff stolen. Your Center is the only place I can put those worries aside and come and get clean. I don't know what I would do without y'all." - Mr. B. - HTC Guest

 

 

 

Showers as a Gateway to Housing + Greater Care

 

Our mission is to improve the quality of life for people experiencing homelessness by helping connect them with services and resources designed to meet their basic daily needs. We specialize in helping our guests have greater access to hygiene, healthcare, and housing served with a hearty dose of hospitality.

 

As guests await their time to shower, we take the opportunity to talk with them, ask how they are doing, assess what unmet needs they have, and work to help find solutions. Sometimes a solution might mean providing a clean pair of underwear, other times, it means that we can gauge interest in the housing process and help end someone's homelessness forever. In all cases, these conversations help build a sense of community that allows our guests to feel safe and comfortable coming to us in their time of need.

 

Our sunrise shower service helps people find us so that we can give them a sense of belonging within our greater community and it's that relationship with our Center that allows us to connect guests with greater care. Among our proudest accomplishments in 2021 is helping to navigate 86 people into stable housing, hosting vaccine clinics that have helped to vaccinate 72 of our guests and counting, distributing over 10,000 hygiene kits, washing over 2,600 loads of guests' laundry, and facilitating over 1,800 phone calls to family, service providers, employers, and more.

 

 

Fixing the Floors

 

Construction is already underway to fix the dilapidated flooring in our shower building. Services are closed until Monday, August 16th, to allow proper time for this project to be completed so that we can welcome our guests back safely. Our contractor estimates that the repairs will cost approximately $7,000 - a small price to pay for our guests' well-being, but still above the repair budget for our small nonprofit.

 

If you have the means, please consider donating today or share our Go-Fund-Me page with others to help us save our showers today!