How a nonprofit organization is bringing showers and dignity to Connecticut’s unhoused community

CT Post – Sunday, April 13, 2025
By Cris Villalonga-Vivoni

NEW HAVEN — Francisco Toyo hadn’t showered in a few days when he strolled up to a trailer parked on the New Haven Green one recent chilly April afternoon. Inside the cozy, clean shower stall, a mirror, shampoo, conditioner, soap and a towel were waiting for him.

Originally from Cuba, Toyo said he’s been unhoused in Connecticut for the last 16 years. He’s been visiting the free, clean showers run by the nonprofit Power in a Shower for the last couple of years, describing it as the best thing for the community.

“I want this to be a program for all the United States, for the whole world,” Toyo said in Spanish.

According to founder Walter Harris, New York-based nonprofit Power in a Shower started during the pandemic to transform lives by offering showers and collaborating with health care entities to provide resources and care simultaneously as homeless rates continues to rise in the state.

Harris expanded the Power in a Shower’s work into Connecticut in 2022 through a partnership with the city of New Haven, Yale New Haven Health Community Outreach Mobile Health Care Van and the Cornell Scott Hill Health Center to create a one-stop pop-up program.

In New Haven, people experiencing homelessness have limited access to clean, safe and private bathing areas, according to a recent study by SHAWN, a community-based research group with Southern Connecticut State University.

The most common showering spaces included social service agencies, shelter housing, hotels and truck stops. Others said they relied on water hoses they could find or used a sink.

Harris said he wants to help restore and maintain the dignity of people experiencing homelessness by assisting them with showers and resources, all with a personalized, friendly touch.

Operating primarily in the summer, the Power in a Shower trailer comprises three shower stalls and one ADA-compliant stall with a ramp entrance. Harris said the trailer has its own heating and cooling systems so guests can change the water temperature. Depending on the location, he told staff to typically pull water from the main city line, attach it to a health care building, or bring their own tank.

Staff writes the first name of each person who showers on a whiteboard outside the stall and on their care kits containing underwear, hygiene products, shirts, and more. Harris said that when the days are busy, each person has about 10 to 15 minutes, but they won’t rush someone if there’s no line.

Since its founding four years ago, Power in Shower has offered over 7,800 showers and 8,800 care packages across New York City’s five boroughs and Connecticut.

According to the SHAWN study, a survey of 58 Power in a Shower guests in New Haven found that many left the showers content, happy with the clean space, easy access, ability to control water temperature, and friendly staff. The showers also helped guests rebuild their self-confidence and gave them an opportunity to get to know others while waiting in line. A few people surveyed also said the warm showers would help ease some of their chronic pain.

One 38-year-old man, known as Shawn, has been experiencing homelessness on and off over the years but knows that he can turn to Power in a Shower whenever he needs it.

Getting out of the shower fresh, he said, feels great and can help someone’s day be better, even if it’s just for 10 minutes. As he turned to walk away to continue into the chilly New Haven day, Harris made sure to let everyone know that Shawn was family to them.

“It just makes all the difference walking around. I’m sure people get a lot of dirty looks; they may smell,” he said. “It just makes that little difference in their day, especially the hot summer day.”

Lack of access to free, clean showers is a nationwide issue that nonprofits are trying to help solve. However, Harris said his nonprofit is different because it’s part of the network of solutions to meet the needs of the community. Most visits through New Haven and other cities include medical or social service staff members who can offer immediate care after the showers.

Harris said building consistent trust and rapport through the showers may make someone more inclined to accept and follow through with a medical or social referral. He said they’ve seen several of their regular visitors find housing and seek out mental health or addiction services after taking a shower.

“When we work that way in a referral collaborative effort to get them restored, get them showers and medical help that they need, restore dignity and trust, and then we’re able then to recommend them to other health case workers and stuff like that, to get back on their feet and get up again,” he said.

The latest Power in a Shower expansion includes a new partnership with Hartford HealthCare to host the showers twice a month. It’s hosted during the neighborhood health clinics Hartford HealthCare hosts at nonprofit Hands-On Hartford on the first and third Wednesday of the month.

Harris said Power in a Shower is also starting to find more partnerships across the state. He said they recently hosted shower-health events in Enfield.

“Our goal is transformation of people’s lives, and it’s not the easiest thing, because a lot of people don’t understand it,” he said. “So, slowly we are picking up momentum and support financial support.”

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