The Hollywood United Neighborhood Council (HUNC) is helping people experiencing homelessness to wash their clothes and bedding, and have access to portable showers. This is a combined effort of HUNC, Wash on Western, A Million Drops and Showers of Hope.
Sheila Irani, co-chair of Public Safety, Works, and Transportation committee worked with Ross Dodds, owner of Wash on Western and Maike Both, founder of the non profit A Million Drops to create the first Laundry Voucher program for the homeless. The voucher is being distributed to homeless service centers such as A Million Drops, First Presbyterian, Blessed Sacrament Mother of Good Council and Salvation Army to pass on to their homeless clients. The vouchers have a value of five dollars and are exchanged for a full wash and dry including detergent at Wash on Western Tuesday thru Thursday. The laundromat is full service with all day assistance and have been lauded for their customer service by the dozens of homeless being served there. In fact some of the homeless are now being employed there. Funding was provided by HUNC to A Million Drops who manages free laundry days for the homeless in Hollywood.
Additionally, HUNC has funded portable showers with Showers of Hope at Hollywood Adventist Church on Tuesdays for 8 weeks from 11 am to 3pm. With clean clothes and clean bodies the homeless have told representatives of HUNC they feel renewed and better equipped to look for jobs and meet people.
Sheila would love to see more NCs adopt showers and laundry vouchers for the homeless in their district and is willing to help more NCs set these programs up.