For people living on the streets in Fort Worth, this one thing makes a big difference

Sometimes something as simple as a shower can make a person feel completely different, more positive about themselves.

For many, however, this is anything but easy. It’s hard to find a shower when you’re living on the streets.

Which is why Margaret Smith brought Cloud Covered Streets to Fort Worth. The nonprofit organization offers showers and much more to folks struggling with homelessness and instability.

Cloud Covered Streets features a 28-foot cargo trailer with three showers, including one that is ADA accessible. There is also a laundry room with two full-sized washers and dryers.

They take the trailer out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to locations in Fort Worth and surrounding areas to offer these services free of charge.

“We try to get hairdressers to volunteer in order to provide haircuts as well,” said Smith, local Cloud Covered Streets president. “For anyone who uses our services, we also give them new clothing, toiletry supplies, letters of hope, snacks and drinks.

“The trailer is set up in the parking lots of private locations, and our guests enjoy coming to a safe place where they are welcomed.”

There is an operations team that helps run everything, but Smith said she also asks for volunteers to come out as well.

“The main goal of that is to have them visit with our neighbors — get to know them, ask how they’re doing — that’s the type of interaction they don’t get on a daily basis, unfortunately,” she said.

Cloud Covered Streets’ start

While Smith didn’t originate Cloud Covered Streets, she didn’t hesitate to be at the forefront of its expansion from its start in Phoenix. Smith, of Fort Worth, is part owner of a plumbing and HVAC company.

“We saw the Arizona trailer get launched in 2020, and thought it was a service that could benefit the Fort Worth community,” Smith said.

Smith and two others, Gina Barton, a registered nurse, and Sarah Daniel, a marketing executive at American Airlines Credit Union, went to Phoenix to volunteer and see the work being done.

“After one day, we were in awe of the setup and impact it had,” Smith said.

So they asked to meet with founder Robert Thornton to see what it would take to bring a trailer to Fort Worth. Thornton previously ran Paper Clouds Apparel, which sells T-shirts, mugs, and totes designed by people with special needs and sends 50% of the sales to groups or the artists.

The groundwork for a local trailer began in 2021 with street missions.

“This allowed us to scope out potential locations that would most benefit from our trailer services, while meeting the people we’d potentially be serving,” Smith said.

The local trailer was completed and started going out regularly in January of 2022. It is exactly like the original in Phoenix.

“The model that was created in Phoenix was very well thought-out, so there was no desire or need to change it up,” Smith said.

The beginning

Thornton said the idea for Cloud Covered Streets came from simple interactions with homeless people. When meeting people experiencing homelessness, one of the questions he would always ask was, “What is something you could really use?” The most common answer, he said, was “A shower.”

So he set out to do his part to help. After much research, he created Cloud Covered Streets.

“I researched and found others who were bringing showers to the streets, but they hadn’t combined other resources like a laundry machine, so they would shower and then put back on dirty clothes,” he said. “We wanted to do better with Cloud Covered Streets.”

More than a shower

Cloud Covered Streets provides more than a shower and clean clothes. It also provides employment through the operations team.

“We employ two to four people who we met through using our services. They are paid to help run our operations, giving them purpose and job experience, in hopes of getting them into a long-term full-time job,” Smith said.

The ultimate goal, she said, is getting them stable income to help get into a place to call home. For that, they do not currently have a company they work with for employment, but she said they are definitely willing to talk with anyone who can help.

“The population we serve is generally trying to better themselves. They don’t want to be homeless, so being able to visit our trailer and take a shower, do laundry, get new clothes and maybe even a haircut, helps them feel like a regular person,” she said. “These small moments to us mean so much to them.

“Oftentimes we’ll see people leaving our trailer for a job interview or appointment with housing assistance, so we enjoy playing a small part in their path to a better place.”

Testimonials

Smith said Cloud Covered Streets has helped on average around 5,000 guests in a year. The appreciation, as one can imagine, is genuine and heartfelt.

One gentleman came out of the trailer singing and dancing to “He’s Got The Whole World In His Hands,” which Smith said completely made the day for herself and the crew.

Smith noted another guest said, “I came here smelling like a polar bear. I leave here smelling like a French poodle!”

Help elsewhere

Smith said the company Bombas is “phenomenal at assisting with annual sock donations, along with shirts and underwear as well.”

She said CCS is able to provide salon-quality shampoo, conditioner, body wash and lotion, thanks to the generosity of L’ANZA Haircare. She added the Fort Worth Convention Center has reached out about having visitors volunteer.

“That was great!” she said excitedly. “We also have trailer sponsors and our locations who allow us to bring these services out the days each week.”

Each October, CCS holds an annual fundraiser to help support operational expenses. They also have annual trailer sponsorship opportunities and, of course, help from generous donors.

“The support the community has shown us has been amazing. If we could change one thing, it would be the amount of hairdressers and volunteers who join us each day,” Smith said.