The Shower Bus was first conceptualized in March of 2022, outside of Innes Community Learning Center. There, Robert Ford, along with other organizers, held a pop-up food pantry every third Saturday of the month.
One humid weekend, a woman left her van across the street on East Avenue with her kids inside. She wanted food.
She wanted to get clean.
Unfortunately, Ford told her, the pop-up operation didn’t have access to the community learning center’s indoor facilities. That’s when a METRO bus rolled by. Ford had a thought.
“I wonder if we had something mobile…”
Three years after this revelation, the Shower Bus, a project powered by Forever R Children — Ford’s nonprofit — is rolling during its second year on Summit County’s streets, meeting a basic yet profound need for vulnerable residents: the chance to feel clean and dignified.
“That’s why when people come here, we don’t call them our clients — we call them our guests,” explained Lori Porter, who sits on the nonprofit’s board.
How do you take a shower on a bus?
On a recent Tuesday, the Shower Bus served about 20 people, first come, first served, from a city-owned parking lot behind Decker Muffler, on the edge of downtown Akron. Why? Organizers learned of a nearby encampment of unhoused residents. So they asked them to fill out a simple form and place their personal belongings in large containers outside the bus. They wore flipflops provided to them during 20-minute time slots as they used full-service bathrooms with 10 minutes of water access.
The project’s supporters range from the City of Akron and Summit County to the United Steelworkers and METRO, which gifted a 45-foot-long decommissioned public transportation vehicle.
The bus was retrofitted with two bathrooms for $90,000. It’s capable of serving 25 to 30 people a day. Fannie Brown, a retired educator and administrator now serving on the foundation’s board, expects future buses to be constructed with three bathrooms.
Speaking of the future: Ford said he’s fielded calls from organizations and government entities in Houston, Texas; Atlanta, Georgia; and Tampa and Orlando, Florida, about opportunities for his mobile hygiene concept to scale to other U.S. cities.
“So, yeah. I’m running,” said Ford, who has worked at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. for 27 years. His current job is inspecting every tire on the production line before they reach NASCAR tracks.
“But it’s not really work for me. I love staying busy.”
How many people did the Shower Bus service last year in Akron and Summit County?
Last year, 904 people utilized the Shower Bus. They ranged in age from 32 to 78.
That amounted to 4,200 gallons of water and 300 gallons of diesel fuel, all donated by the City of Akron. Not to mention more than 1,000 volunteer hours.
During this period, the nonprofit’s food project distributed more than 70,000 pounds of food as well as more than 6,000 meals.
When and where to find the Shower Bus in Summit County in 2025
The bus currently has three pop-up shower locations serving Akron and Summit County:
- Across the street from the Peter Maurin Center (1096 S. Main St., Akron)
- Common Threads (211 3rd St., Barberton)
- Family of Faith United Methodist Church (800 E. Market St., Akron)
In addition to the pop ups, Forever R Children hosts the Shower Bus and Caravan of Love at eight locations. On-sites services include food, clothing, medical services (including mental health support), haircuts and more:
- First Congregational Church of Akron (292 E. Market St., Akron) — first Monday of the month
- Metro Transit Station (631 S. Broadway St., Akron) — second Monday of the month
- L.I.N.K.S Community & Family Services (756 Upson St., Akron) — Thursday following the third Monday of the month
- Wesley Temple AME Zion Church (104 N. Prospect St., Akron) — fourth Monday of the month
Sites and times are subject to change as the organization figures out how to best serve community needs.
“We’re feeling our way,” Brown said.
A Shower Bus guest they won’t soon forget
They remember her story.
The woman who experienced homelessness told Ford and others she spent the night fighting raccoons as she slept outdoors.
She showed up to the Shower Bus, then left for a job interview.
The next time volunteers saw her at the bus, she didn’t want a shower. Just lunch. She was on her way to work.
They haven’t seen her since, which organizers hope is a good sign, an example that services help residents stabilize their lives.
