Click on the graphic to access Jim Peterson’s post in the HOMES NOW! BELLINGHAM Facebook group where you can watch Jim’s video update
June 6, 2018 Dena Jensen
I am going to start first with the ending of Jim’s June 4, update video, since it is powerful and shouldn’t be missed:
“This is about Now, not Later. We don’t need to hold a bunch of meetings and discuss, well what’s the problem? The problem is that homeless people don’t have a place to live. The problem is homeless people don’t have a place to take a shower. The problem is homeless people don’t have a safe place to camp. The problem is they don’t have toilets and dumpsters. The problem is they can’t get water. Do you know how hard it is to get water when you are homeless? – Because they took all the spigots and made so you need a key to turn them on, because, you know, homeless people don’t deserve water. It’s getting hot out there. These people need to be hydrated.
“I urge every one of you: buy a case of water. Put it in your car. When you pull up to the light and and there’s a homeless man there, at least give him a bottle of water. You don’t have to give him money. Give him a bottle of water or two. Just the little things, it doesn’t take a lot. Just get involved. It’s about community. If you go on our page and you look at the videos that were made today of the first lady that got out of the shower, that made all the heartache and the trouble we had worthwhile.“
Planning for shower truck started on May 9 of last month and on June 4 they had the first trial run of the shower truck and all Jim can say is, “Oh My God, it was a total success!”
1. They gave 22 showers on June 4
2. Jim can’t thank all the volunteers enough that helped build it and support it, that shared their posts on Facebook.
3. People came to the truck on Monday when they put out the call to the community.
4. They had 10 towels to start with. The Shower Truck was just going to have a short run.
5. People came from everywhere. They couldn’t wait to try it.
6. So they put out the call that they needed more towels at City Hall and the community came through! They received the towels they needed and Jim thanks everyone so much!
7. Special shout out to Markis Dee for designing the shower truck and making it a huge success on Monday.
8. Thanks to JC Mansfield: “You rock!” She helped clean the showers and she is a bundle of joy!
9. Thanks to Amy Glasser for coming by with new underwear for men and women and an abundance of socks. Great for people to have these to put on after their showers. Awesome!
10. Here are things that are currently needed:
11. A place to park the Shower Truck that they can run a power cord to to keep the battery charged for the water pumps, fans, lights etc. on the truck.
12. Also, needed is a place the truck can fill up with water. 300 gallons would fill their tanks. They used 150 gallons on Monday or 6.8 gallons per shower. They already have a place to dump the gray water.
13. Wednesday the Shower Truck is going to the painters to be painted.
14. The next time the Shower Truck will be out and about is June 16, at the Black Lives Matter Juneteenth Celebration Bellingham Event .https://www.facebook.com/events/1807584439305155/
15. The following day June 17, the Shower Truck will be at the Homeless Summit at Maritime Heritage Park.
16. Hopefully the Shower Truck will also be available at the June 20 United Way Project Homeless Connect event at Bellingham High School. http://www.unitedwaywhatcom.org/project-homeless-connect
17. “You guys are what made this happen. This isn’t about HomesNOW! It’s not about Jim, Doug, Markis, JC, Amy. It’s about the homeless. It’s the right thing to do. And the sooner we get this into our brains, the easier things get.”
18. Volunteers are needed to man the shower truck.
19. It would be great to have nurses that would step up to do Well Checks on blood pressure, blood sugar, etc while the Shower Truck is at an event or location. It would be great to have a foot clinic.
20. It would be great to have other groups get involved.
21. If anyone has an old RV with an unneeded 16 ft. awning on it, HomesNOW would love to take it off your hands to put it on the side of the Shower Truck for people who are waiting for a shower or for their phones to charge at the power station on the Truck.
22. Thanks for past donations and they are still needed. Checks can be made out to HomesNow and sent to HomesNow at 814 Dupont St. Bellingham, WA 98225
23. You can also donate online either as a one time donation through Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/homesnow or sign up for monthly donations through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/homesnow/posts
24. “Bellingham Community, we proved today that we can do it!”
25. The cost of the Shower Truck was $6200 and it’s up and running. It’s ready to go again.
26. Thanks to the community of Bellingham and all the great volunteers and those who support what HomesNOW! is doing.
27. Write your County Council Members and call on them to promptly write the needed ordinance that will allow HomesNOW! run a tent encampment and build a tiny village in Whatcom County.
28. Addresses for Council Members:
council@co.whatcom.wa.us
noisy waters northwest 