Joan Sutherland (The Haven Manager) & Aaron Pryce (Pastor at Centerpoint Church Maddington)
Camera IconJoan Sutherland (The Haven Manager) & Aaron Pryce (Pastor at Centerpoint Church Maddington) Credit: Supplied/Jon Hewson www.communitypix.com.au d484347

Victoria Park: The Haven offering free hot showers to homeless

Bronwyn DonovanSouthern Gazette

IN ADDITION to feeding about 150 people living rough each day, The Haven in Victoria Park is now offering hot showers thanks to a partnership with One Voice.

Since opening in September last year, The Haven manager Joan Sutherland has worked tirelessly to help the homeless and about three weeks ago managed arrange for a mobile shower truck to be at the centre every Wednesday afternoon.

Running the first mobile shower truck in WA, Centerpoint Church Maddington pastor Aaron Pryce met One Voice founder Josh Wilkins at the end of March and knew that he had to be part of the scheme, which offers a safe place for those living rough to clean, brush their teeth, and shave.

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“We want to make the service available in areas where there is need and there is need in the Town of Victoria Park,” he said.

“The van is open to anyone who wants a hot shower and also to anyone who just wants to sit and chat for a while.”

Ms Sutherland said she had wanted shower facilities for the centre for a while but with its Op Shop being the only source of income, fundraising to renovate was challenging.

“When I heard about the mobile shower truck I was very excited as it has answered our needs,” she said.

“We launched the initiative on (June 27) and had a couple come in who had been waiting since breakfast, so excitedly for the to the van to arrive.

“It has been beautiful to watch, to see people walking out after their shower and seeing in their faces how much it means to have someone treat them with the dignity they deserved.”

The One Voice shower van also makes regular stops at Real Life Church in Gosnells every Friday morning and the Seven Day Adventist Church on Ward Street in Cannington on Friday nights.