DURHAM, N.C. — If the North Carolina heat feels like it’s too much, then try living in it 24/7 without shade.

What You Need To Know

Fresh Start Durham started in October

Mary Wilson runs operation with family

It gives hot showers and other items every Tuesday to the homeless

People in Durham without a home now have an opportunity to wash and clean themselves. 

Every Tuesday morning, Mary Wilson wipes down the same mobile showering units.

“We've been up and running every week since October,” Wilson said.

The 52-year-old wants homeless people to have somewhere to come and shower.

“Really what this is, this is all to get this community here. To gain some trust and build some relationships,” Wilson said.

She calls the mobile showers Fresh Start Durham. They start setting up tables around 7:30 a.m. The hot water is ready at 8:30 and over by noon.

Wilson said she lived in Durham with her husband, Joe, and children for several years. Her intent is to gain a trusted foothold with the homeless community.

She engages with the unhoused regulars often.

“I am glad to see you back,” Wilson said. 

Sanitizing and cleaning the stalls is yeoman’s work. To make those inroads with those surviving the stress, she’s out in the heat, offering everything folks need to wash off. She is the quarterback and coach of this operation. Wilson directs folks to one of eight units open on site at any time.

As soon as one person finishes showering — another is ready to walk in — meaning the showers require constant sanitation.

“It's hard work. We love to have people who share a love for our community and a sense of responsibility,” she said.

Wilson and her husband do all this labor on top of their day jobs. She said running the operation wouldn’t be possible without the help of their children.

“It’s just fun. It’s just wonderful. The big benefit is that you are going to meet so many great people,” she said.

The setup is simple. People sign up, fill out a waiver, are assigned a number, then they grab any toiletries and go scrub down.

“We have a small sampling of supplies,” Wilson pointed to a table with big containers. 

“Bug wipes are big, sunscreen, toothbrush, toothpaste,” she said as she raffled through a container of goods. “In men and women, we do T-shirts, underwear and socks.”

The Wilsons put out a big box of razors, combs, sanitary products, deodorant, soap, shampoo and offer towels to dry off.

Wilson said once they are clean, they can freshen up their look too.

“A lot of people want to get a haircut first,” she said.

So they go see James Harrison. He stands on the other side of the parking lot with clippers in hand molding hairdo after hairdo.

Harrison said he gives roughly 25 haircuts in a two-hour period. Harrison, 58, said he has a disability. The wandering soul has been forced to move in and out of housing during the pandemic across Durham County.

Building trust with the unhoused takes time and effort.

“I’ve known a lot of the people in the community for a long time, but it’s just time. A lot of people are super disrespected and super ignored and people are fearful,” Wilson said. “We really do care about people and over time I think people pick that up.”

At the end of the day she said it’s about meeting people where they are, seeing what they need and connecting them to the resources that can make their lives better.

Based on information as of January 2020, North Carolina had an estimated 9,280 experiencing homelessness on any given day, as reported by Continuums of Care to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

For 2021, Durham and Durham County Continuums of Care report 955 people experiencing homelessness who came through shelters and other temporary housing over the course of a year. People are experiencing homelessness for longer bouts of time at older stages in life.

The Wilsons said they pay for the water, hygiene items and other necessities out of their own pocket.

Another community organization works with Fresh Start in the same parking lot.

The Open Table Ministry pitched an open tent beside the mobile showers where volunteers coordinate outreach opportunities.

Open Table Ministry Assistant Director Drew Woten said they open up a Free Store every Tuesday. The Free Store is a home base of goods. The homeless can sign up to receive a range of necessities. All they have to do is walk up to volunteers standing outside the Trinity UMC and tell them what they need. Since so many come more than once, the men and women living on the streets can receive a full set of clothes from OTM once a month.

Volunteers will go into the church to fill up a bag of clothes, shoes and personal items, like sleeping bags, for a person to take with them.

The OTM unpaid helpers also connect homeless populations to jobs and health services. To do that, these coordinators begin the process of helping a homeless person obtain a legal identification card.

Woten said working with Fresh Start has been a glove fit.

“They’ve been a huge partnership to us and it just makes so much sense. We (have) folks (here who) are already getting clothing and personal items, to have an opportunity for folks to get a fresh shower as well. It’s just been a wonderful partnership and has really given Free Store a life of its own,” Woten said.

The parking lot is across the street from Durham City Hall.

After or before people shower, they can volunteer personal information to the nonprofit organization.

The OTM relies solely on donations.