09/24/2026
Think about how your morning started today. You probably woke up, took a hot shower, and put on clean clothes. And if you are like me you didn't even have to think about it.
Now imagine you haven't had a shower in two weeks. Your clothes are the only ones you own, and they haven't been washed in a month. You have a job interview Thursday, or a doctor's appointment, or you just simply want to walk out in public without worrying how your clothes look or how you smell.
For many of our neighbors experiencing homelessness, that's a normal day.
At Friends of the Carpenter we believe in changing that narrative for our friends through our Dignity Services.
We offer three simple things: free showers, free laundry, and a day center, a safe, warm place where people can rest, charge a phone, get a cup of coffee, and be treated as human beings.
These may sound like small things, but they aren't small to our friends who use them.
Clean clothes and a hot shower bring back confidence.
The day center brings back something else: connection.
Here, people are greeted by name.
They're asked how they're doing, and someone waits for the answer.
Our services are rooted in compassion and are offered without judgment.
Just the other day one of our friends was thrilled that she found us. She’s currently living out of her car while working for both Door Dash and Amazon and for her to have the opportunity to wash her clothes and take a shower without any financial burdern was the biggest relief. You could see it in her face and hear it in her voice.
These are the stories that we ecounter all the time.
We have learned that we don’t have to solve homelessness today. We can help one person feel clean, warm, and seen, and sometimes that's the moment a new start begins.
For GiveMore 24! we are raising funds for our Dignity Services and we hope that you will join us in seeing more of our unsheltered friends feel human again.
https://www.givemore24.org/organization/FriendsOfTheCarpenter
