Hygiene services offered to vendors who sell the paper

“It makes me feel human.”

That was a recurring sentiment expressed on a rainy afternoon by Street Roots vendors emerging fresh from a shower and wearing clothes they just washed in the building’s laundry room.

The basement floor houses Street Roots’ new shower and laundry facilities, offering appointments for showers and a wash and dry laundry service.

For vendor Lore Wilson, using the facilities offered some reprieve from the experience of living outside.

“It restores a massive amount of personal dignity, self-esteem and confidence to have a shower and clean clothes,” Wilson said. “Having my basic needs so considerately cared for, with so much kindness and compassion — to have my humanity recognized in such a way — is a good reminder that I am not less than.”