St. Luke's Shower Program

As we face uncertainties in our community, country and world, the public witness of the church as a place of radical hospitality and justice seeking is particularly important. In who we are, how we love, and all we do, St. Luke's/ San Lucas strives to be beloved community. We journey with a loving, compassionate and justice-seeking Jesus.

The St. Luke's/ San Lucas community responds to the needs of those who are unhoused through direct service and advocacy for more affordable housing; being a Sanctuary Congregation, supporting those who are undocumented, and working for immigration reform that offers pathways to citizenship; and extending hospitality to and advocacy for members of the LGBTQIA+ community in Long Beach.

St. Luke's Shower Program & Manna Meals provides showers, clothes, food, a safe place to be, and more on Saturdays for our unhoused neighbors. 

19% of Long Beach residents live below the poverty line, and the 2025 homelessness count included 3,565 people in Long Beach who experienced homelessness. Many of our unhoused neighbors have behavioral health challenges and substance use disorders.

On Saturdays, the Shower Program hosts more than 100 unhoused neighbors and others with a place of safety, care, and hospitality. Having access to bathrooms, and being able to shower and put on clean clothes undergirds both personal health and emotional well-being. As guests emerge from the Showers, they often comment that they "feel human again." Receiving coffee, water, and a hot meal as well as fruit and snacks to go provides comfort and sustenance for many who face food insecurity.

At our First Aid Station, volunteer nurses treat minor sores, cuts, and abrasions, take temperatures and blood pressures, and encourage guests to seek medical attention, which can make a significant difference in people's lives. Our volunteer team of four barbers provides free haircuts for about 40 men once a month.

Emerging from our conversations with our guests, we have mindfully involved guests in managing our Shower program. Guests and former guests help in the kitchen, volunteer sorting and organizing donations on Thursdays, and volunteer with Showers on Saturdays. A recently housed woman who has been a regular at the Shower Program for years, has helped sort and organize clothes for Saturday. Dee's pride in giving back was visible in her broad smile. She also told us that without our support and belief in her, she would not have been able to make the transition from the street to permanent housing.

We also host a free laundry program for unhoused people twice a month at a local laundromat. We also offer shower guests access to a community garden and modest move-in grants.

St. Luke's is called to be a generous community, sharing our resources with each other and with the world. We are dedicated to seeking social justice for all of God's people, respecting the dignity of every human being, and responding to human needs.

Testimonials

"My name is Robert Freese and I want to share with you some thoughts about "Meeting God in Ministry," based on some experiences volunteering in the St. Luke's Shower Program. A few years ago, on my first shift with the Shower Program, I had little idea what I was getting into and by the end I was drained, numb, and certain that I did not have the right temperament for this project...