ShowerUp Huntsville brings showers and laundry services to those in need

MADISON – ShowerUp Huntsville provides free showers and laundry services to those in need in Madison, Huntsville and North Alabama.

“We don’t require anything,” said ShowerUp Chief Operating Officer Taylor Reed. “We go around town, we set up so people can come to us, and we provide everything that they need to get clean. When someone shows up, we’re going to provide them a clean towel, a clean washcloth, hygiene kits with all of the necessities they need for a shower, like soap, shampoo, conditioner, even hairbrushes and a toothbrush, toothpaste and anything that someone would use in their daily routine.”

Reed said he began ShowerUp Huntsville after getting to know people in the community who are in need of support. After asking how he could best help, the answer was clear.

“I got to know a lot of the people in Huntsville who were experiencing homelessness and started talking to them about what their needs were and asking if there was anything that they needed that they didn’t have,” he said. “Showers were the most common answer. And people kept asking me, ‘Do you know anywhere I could shower?”

ShowerUp Huntsville is not the first of its kind, Reed said that it is an expansion of ShowerUp Nashville.

“This was actually the first ever expansion of ShowerUp out of Nashville,” he said. “Since then, the model that we use in Huntsville has now spread to six other cities across the southeast. So, we were kind of the mobile for that in North Alabama, but what we do is provide mobile showers and personal care to those who need it, primarily those experiencing homelessness.”

Reed said that ShowerUp provides an opportunity for those who live in North Alabama who do not have a place to shower a clean, routine shower and that through moving the showers to different areas across North Alabama, ShowerUp is better able to meet needs.

“There’s a mixture of people who are living on the streets and have absolutely nothing, those who are living in tents or homeless camps around town, people living in homeless shelters and then we see a lot of people who are living in their vehicles,” he said. “If you don’t have a home, you don’t have a shower. So, we’re mobile. We travel around and have events and provide everybody with everything they need to get clean.”

Reed said that, along with showers, ShowerUp aims to connect and build relationships with those who use its services.

“Doing showers is just the beginning,” he said. “We want to build a relationship with people, try to help them, give them a hand up and connect them to other resources that they need.”

In addition to showers, ShowerUp has recently added a mobile laundry option.

“Just a couple of months ago, we launched mobile laundry,” Reed said. “We have a mobile laundromat that follows our shower trailer around town, and it sets up, and people can not only wash their bodies and feel clean, but they can also wash their clothes. With the mobile laundromat, we provide all the laundry supplies.”

Reed said the mobile laundry trailer is set up at the same time and location as the mobile showers.

“We let people drop off their clothing, and then our volunteers will wash the clothes, fold them and then give them back,” he said. “We are serving a regular population of those experiencing homelessness with laundry, but we also see a lot of other people living in poverty, low income, living paycheck to paycheck, who might have a home, but they don’t have a washer- dryer in their home.”

One ShowerUp volunteer, Marcus Butler, was named 2025 Madison Youth Volunteer of the Year.

“Marcus would volunteer multiple times a week, and he would come out, and really, what he did was he built relationships with the people that we serve,” Reed said.

Reed said that those who ShowerUp serves knew Butler well and looked forward to talking to him when he volunteered.

“The friends that we serve called Marcus a friend, and they would look forward to the days that Marcus was going to be there,” he said. “That’s what it’s all about, just caring about people, no matter their situation. That’s exactly what Marcus did, and he spent hundreds of hours doing that with us. And he was one of our favorite volunteers.”

Reed said that he has seen many reactions to the services ShowerUp provides and that the reactions help him know he is making a positive impact.

“They’re always so appreciative,” he said. “We see people with all sorts of reactions. In a given day, we’re giving 60-plus people a shower. There’s always somebody who’s going to walk out of the shower crying and in tears of joy just saying and thinking, ‘Wow, I feel clean again,’ and some people are singing and dancing as they shower.”

ShowerUp is not just giving people a place to shower and wash laundry, it is also giving people a clean start.

“They just have a boost of confidence to tackle the challenges of the day,” Reed said. “Whether it’s to go try to apply for a job, apply for housing or work with a case manager for mental health resources if you don’t have a shower, and then you’re dirty and you feel bad about yourself and it’s hard to take that step.”

ShowerUp operates off volunteers and donations. For more information, visit ShowerUp Huntsville on Facebook or www. showerup.org.

“We don’t have a big corporate backer, a big church or a big sponsor. We’re a small nonprofit, so we rely on donations from everybody within our community,” Reed said. “So, whether that’s donating a pair of socks, donating underwear, a toothbrush, toothpaste or donating funds to help us pay for all the utilities, the maintenance and the transportation costs of hosting our events. We couldn’t do it without donations from the community.”