Mobile showers, washer and dryer to aid homeless in Southern Indiana

News & Tribune

Friday, April 24, 2015

By ELIZABETH BEILMAN

JEFFERSONVILLE — The local homeless population will soon have basic needs on wheels brought directly to them.

Jesus Cares for Exit 0, a Jeffersonville-based homeless ministry, has outfitted a 20-foot trailer with two showers, a washer and dryer.

The trailer will be allow for 16 showers daily with 200 gallons of water that Exit 0 Director Paul Stensrud brings from his home.

“We will do what we’ve got to do to make sure that our local homeless are clean and taken care of,” Stensrud said at the Jeffersonville City Council meeting Monday.

Stensrud’s goal is to operate “off the grid,” only paying for the trailer’s fuel costs out of Exit 0’s $1,100 monthly budget.

The Jeffersonville City Council voted Monday to pay for half of the $4,000 generator, asking Stensrud to find a private donor to pay for the rest.

The generator will be stored outside Exit 0’s headquarters on Federal Avenue off Spring Street when the trailer is parked inside. It can also be attached to the trailer itself. Stensrud is purchasing one that doesn’t produce much noise.

“The beauty to this is once we do put a generator on it, it will become mobile to where we can take it to different locations” including Floyd, Clark and Scott counties — “wherever there may be a homeless issue.” The Williams Emergency Shelter, the only homeless shelter in Southern Indiana, has seven showers and an average of 70 tenants. The trailer will help serve the homeless population that doesn’t stay in the shelter, including the street homeless.

Stensrud said while simple, showers and clean clothes allow the homeless to feel more comfortable going to the doctor’s office or a job interview. Jeffersonville helped fund a study that aims to end homelessness in 10 years.

“We’ve got to bridge the gap with the homeless, whether that’s with drives and donations, city dollars,” Councilman Dennis Julius said of helping out before the study’s strategic plan is implemented. Stensrud thanked the council for its help this year.

“As time progresses, we’re just hoping to build better relationships in the community, and we’re seeing this after seven years,” Stensrud said. “Our homeless aren’t going away, but I’ll tell you, the amazing stories are happening with partnerships coming in now have been phenomenal.”