We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jennifer Park a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jennifer, appreciate you joining us today. Let’s kick things off with talking about how you serve the underserved, because in our view this is one of the most important things the small business community does for society – by serving those who the giant corporations ignore, small business helps create a more inclusive and just world for all of us.
One humid Monday in May, E happened across an unusual site: a shiny silver shower trailer near where she was living in her car was parked in the parking lot at Northwest Assistance Ministries. She had never seen anything like it before. “Restoring dignity to the unhoused one shower at a time” the trailer read. She humbly approached and asked if she could take a shower because she had a job interview and not had the opportunity to wash her hair in some time. Moving Waters volunteers warmly greeted her, handed her a towel and fresh undergarments and told her to enjoy her shower. When E emerged from the shower stall twenty minutes later, her eyes were sparkling and her downtrodden expression had transformed into one of confidence and hope for her upcoming interview. E returned for a shower for several more weeks, sharing updates on her job prospects and potential housing. E had developed a relationship with Moving Waters, phone numbers were exchanged, and friendships were forged. After several weeks, E’s absence was felt by all the volunteers that had become friends. She sent a message stating she had been offered a job and was moving into an apartment in a matter of days. E shared that she felt dignified and treated like a person by those she encountered with Moving Waters.
Jennifer, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
Moving Waters was founded in 2019 with the goal of relieving immediate suffering and promoting long-term dignity of our unhoused brothers and sisters by providing showers via a mobile shower trailer. I grew up in a household where service to others was a cornerstone, that each and every person was deserving of access to basic human necessities. I later went on to get my Masters degree in Occupational Therapy. I saw the impact that shower had on my patients: each patient expressed feeling refreshed and renewed. I discovered that combining my passions of service and my career was a true calling and thus Moving Waters was born. Moving Waters is unique in that we go to where those experiencing homelessness find shelter. It is our aim to be consistent and reliable for our shower guests. We currently provide showers at three different shower sites in the Houston area. Mondays are at Ecclesia Church Downtown, Wednesdays at St. Joseph Catholic Church, and Fridays at Northwest Assistance Ministries. With a second shower trailer being delivered in the next few weeks, we will be able to further expand our service. We currently provide 90 showers a week. We are proud of our partnerships that allow our guests to receive nutritious meals with both Harvest and Hope and Ecclesia Church Downtown, an opportunity for substance abuse counseling through Houston Recovery Center with University of Houston, and clean clothes from Northwest Assistance Ministries and St. Joseph. We’re proud of the relationships we’ve built with our guests: we celebrate our guests successes with sobriety, housing, employment, and we lift our guests up through difficult times.
Our current shower trailer has three private shower stalls, each with a toilet, sink, and mirror to provide our guests with a dignifying, safe environment to feel refreshed and renewed.
What’s been the most effective strategy for growing your clientele?
Our ability to connect with our guests on a personal level helps to build trust with each person that we encounter. The amount of people that we greet and serve on a weekly basis grows due to word of mouth of those that have previously received our services.
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
The most important lesson we have had to learn is that we are here to serve our guests and not save them. We are here to empower our guests to improve their living conditions by providing access to basic hygiene, a fundamental human right.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.movingwaters-houston.org
- Instagram: @movingwatershouston
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MovingWatersHouston
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/moving-waters
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwNl45Cj1d0l-t-QZdxCBMg