Social laundry for the homeless

We are a branch of the All-Ukrainian charitable foundation "Depol Ukraine" in Odessa. For 10 years we have been helping the homeless for free: distributing hot food, providing first aid, sending them home, providing shelter.

5 days a week they come to wash, get haircuts, change into clean clothes. But we constantly need men's and women's warm clothes. Every homeless person receives them after each wash.

We have long dreamed of setting up a social laundry for the homeless on our center's premises. It will make it possible not to throw away many good items.

Here everyone who comes to wash can wash and dry their clothes for free. This way homeless people can feel like full-fledged human beings. They will be able to tidy up not only themselves, but also their favorite things. And we can help preserve the environment by not throwing huge amounts of dirty clothes into landfills.

To make this idea a reality, we have premises, staff and all necessary utilities. We only lack washing and drying machines — we need 45,000 UAH to buy them.

We ask everyone who can to support the project with any comfortable amount.

It may seem that helping the homeless is useless since they chose this life themselves. But this isn't quite true.

Many of those on the street are victims of black realtors; those deceived out of housing by relatives; those who came to Odessa for a better life but failed. They are all people worthy of a helping hand.

Having gotten used to street life, stuck in this situation, it's often hard for them to get out on their own. Only our kindness and compassion can give them strength to break the vicious cycle.

Clean, washed clothes remind a person of that other life where everything was good. Immersing them in these feelings, we can help them take a step toward a new life.

We have many examples of homeless people who, when helped and believed in, found work and forgot street life forever. By setting up a social laundry, we believe we can increase the number of such people.