03-08-2024 TALIA WISE

A former Christian radio executive is making a positive impact in the world by launching a mobile shower ministry that “elevates dignity, ignites hope, and demonstrates God’s love” to the homeless. 

Paul Schmitz used to be intimidated by homeless people, but that all changed when he read a book on faith and God began to give him compassion for the poor. 

He spent more than a decade working with organizations to feed and clothe the homeless, but discovered during that time there were very few places for the unhoused to get a hot shower and take care of basic hygiene.

Schmitz shares that in Nashville, circa 2016, there were 5,000 homeless men, women, and children and only a dozen showering facilities available to them. 

“Oftentimes, these locations where there are showers are only open during the day, and you’d be surprised the number of people who are experiencing homelessness, who have jobs,” he told NPR. 

But then God gave him divine inspiration to seek a solution. 

“One day I was scrolling through my social media and I saw this truck or trailer that had a shower and a bathroom in it and I thought, ‘That’s really interesting. I wonder if you could do something like that for people experiencing homelessness?’ And that was it. I just kept scrolling,” Schmitz told KLOVE. “It was a passing thought and God caught me in that moment and said essentially, ‘I want you to do that.'” 

He told his wife, Rhonda, about the idea of starting mobile showers for people experiencing homelessness. 

The only question she had was, “How are we gonna pay for it?”

“It was that field of dreams moment. If we talk about it and tell people about it, maybe they’ll give money toward it. And that’s exactly what happened,” Schmitz recalled. 

He was able to raise enough money to buy a truck and convert the bed into a mobile shower unit. 

Schmitz called it “Shower Up.”

That one mobile shower unit has blossomed into a non-profit that is serving the homeless in six cities across the United States including Wichita, KS; Chattanooga, TN; Nashville, TN; Huntsville, AL; Chicago, IL; and Tampa Bay, FL. 

“Really what we’re trying to do is give people a sense of dignity, to know that they’re loved, that there’s somebody that’s on their team…so we want to make sure they have a good experience. So this trailer will have three outside doors… inside is a bench, a place to hang your stuff, a sink, a full-size shower with unlimited hot water, LED lighting, and air conditioning… and for our friends experiencing homelessness…something significant for them – a locking door,” Schmitz told KLOVE.

The organization also provides haircuts and hygiene care packets to the homeless.

“This whole experience has really underscored how much God cares for those who live in the margins of our society and our culture,” Schmitz explained. “How much He loves them. They literally live with daily bread. They live day to day through the love that God has for them through the people of God, through people who do generous and kind things for them.”