Volunteers are needed to keep the Hygiene Center at 516 E. First St., Port Angeles, open weekday and Sunday mornings, according to Kim Leach, Serenity House of Clallam County executive director.

“The Hygiene Center exists to give people who are homeless an opportunity to shower or do a load of laundry,” Leach said. “They can get a change of clean clothes, too, if needed. Most of the people who use it are either looking for work or going to work, so being able to clean up is very important to them.”

According to Serenity House sources, an average of 20 people use the center each morning it is open. Most users are adults who sleep at the nearby Street Outreach Shelter, 505 E. Second St., which is open each night from 9 p.m.-6 a.m.

Other people who lack access to showers, including families with children, such as those who may be sleeping in cars or tents, also are welcome to use the Hygiene Center.

“During last winter’s long periods of daytime freezing temperatures, the site also functioned as a warming station,” Leach said. “Fortunately, this winter’s cold snaps have been fairly brief, because we can only open if we have volunteers available.”

For information about volunteering, call services supervisor David Garner at 360-504-5657 or e-mail davidgsas@yahoo.com.

Serenity House is a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness for people in Clallam County.

Donations to help support services can be mailed to Serenity House, P.O. Box 4047, Port Angeles 98363, or made online at serenityhouseclallam.org/donate.

For more information about Serenity House and the work to end homelessness, call 452-7224 or e-mail serenity@olypen.com.