Founder

Founder, Laureen Sherwood, realized her call to action while working with men and women who found themselves homeless, in Dallas, Texas. On a hot summer day, she was speaking with a gentleman who was homeless and as they chatted, she learned it had been nearly two weeks since his last shower. Almost 14 days since he felt clean (it’s not just about being clean but feeling clean). Her heart sunk and immediately was overcome with an overwhelming feeling she needed to do something. An 8 minute drive back to the office changed everything; it only took passing a food truck for the light bulb to go off! That evening, she spent hours researching and learned there are a handful of cities in the country providing shower access for persons and families moving through homelessness. As a “grandfathered” Carolina girl, she moved back to Charlotte and immediately got involved with a local nonprofit serving men and women who are homeless. Still inspired by her conversation with that man in Dallas, the idea of making something happen in the Queen City only grew stronger, and in January of 2018, Project Outpour was incorporated.