Brighten Your Day

Utah School Installs Showers And Laundry Facilities For Homeless Students

March 11, 2017

A high school in Salt Lake City is giving homeless students something to ease the obstacles of daily life – a peaceful place to shower and clean their clothes.

East High School officials estimate they have between 50 and 100 students who don't have access to a shower or a washing machine on a daily basis, according to KSTU.

"A lot of them don't have them in their own homes, and a lot of them are afraid to ask like their friends or someone else," said senior Emily Beatse.

"Cause we have a washing machine and dryer for our costumes, but they're always very sneaky and they come in during a Saturday rehearsal and hide down in the shop and do it while everyone is up rehearsing."

Principal Greg Maughan said these students shouldn't have to live in the shadows. He said everyone who enters this school has the right to be clean.

"I don't want to go to work if I don't have clean clothes, I don't want to go to work if I wasn't able to shower," Maughan said.

So the school has provided two new wash rooms, complete with a shower and a washing machine and dryer, that students can use before, during, or after school.

"It's to feel like they fit in, to feel like they are part of something, and they don't stand out," Maughan added. "And the more likely they are to attend, the more likely they are to succeed in class, to graduate and to move on to college and a career."