(NASHVILLE, TN) - Paul Schmitz, a former Christian radio executive, used to be intimidated by unhoused people living on the streets.
“I didn’t know how to engage folks that were on the street, and that paralyzed me from doing anything meaningful,” he said. “I had compassion, and I had concern, but I didn’t know how to act on it.”
Paul grew up as a Christian, but it wasn't until he read a book on radical faith that Paul begin to really dig into the Bible. God touched his heart for the poor in a new way.
Soon, Paul and his wife Rhonda begin feeding and clothing unhoused people in the Wichita, Kansas area. But that was only the beginning.
Rather hear the story?
Paul shares, "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. It was a passing thought and God caught me in that moment and said essentially, 'I want you to do that.'"
At that time (2016), Nashville had at least 5,000 people living unhoused and only 12 shower heads (not locations, just stalls) to serve all of the people without homes.
Paul went to his wife Rhonda with the idea of starting mobile showers for people experiencing homelessness.
She was supportive of the idea but wondered about funding, saying "OK, well 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."
Soon, Paul was able to raise enough money to buy a truck and convert into a mobile shower unit.
He called it Shower Up.
The goal?
To bring the love of Jesus directly to people while allowing them the dignity of a warm shower.
"We call them mobile shower units. It's a trailer that's got what we call three shower suites, I don't like the word 'stall.' I think that's not very dignified. Really what we're trying to do is give people a sense of dignity, to know that they're loved, that's 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, air conditioning...and for our friends experiencing homeless...something significant for them--a locking door," Paul shares.
"We always tell people, 'take as long as you want, be as quick as you can," Paul says.
The reaction from most people after a shower?
Paul says they'll look at him with a glow and say "I feel human again."
"It's in that moment--that's what give me joy, and that's what makes it wonderful to me," Paul shares. "And it happens all the time."
When asked how operating Shower Up has changed Paul's perspective, he says, "this whole experience has really underscored how much God cares for those who live in the margins of our society and our culture. 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."
Paul has high praise for those living on the streets. "They're the most resilient people I've ever seen in my life. They live by so much faith that it makes me say, 'I can learn a little more about what faith really is and about what loving my neighbor really looks like.'"
God has truly blessed Paul and Rhonda Schmitz' efforts. Shower Up now operates in six cities--Chicago, IL; Tampa Bay, FL; Chattanooga, TN; Wichita, Kansas; Huntsville, AL and Nashville, TN.