FLINT, Michigan — It’s more than just clean clothes. That’s the motto and idea behind Good Laundry, the newest endeavor of Flint’s Good Church. In August, the multicultural community church opened its affordable laundromat, located at 1034 Holbrook Ave.
Good Church was founded in October 2020 by husband and wife duo, Leo Robinson II and Miosha Robinson. Launched as a way to meet the community’s needs during a pandemic, Good Church has continued to listen to what their neighbors need and continues to help make an impact.
From hot meals to now, clean clothes, Good Church aims to impact as many lives as possible with the life-giving message of Jesus Christ through tangible actions, says Leo Robinson II.
“We do not expect the greater Flint community to come just to us; instead, we go to them,” he says. “We serve our community by addressing basic needs that often cause stress for many residents. Our goal is to demonstrate God’s love by providing safe programs for teenagers, offering low-cost laundry services, and conducting home repairs and cleanups for our community, and other ways.”
Good Laundry came to fruition after Good Church staff took on the task of knocking on every door within a four-mile radius of the church. Robinson II says they had no agenda but simply wanted to introduce themselves to the community and to ask, ‘What do you need?’
The answer was resounding: the community needed a clean, affordable laundry service.
“We found that hygiene poverty is a real issue that is rampant in our community,” Robinson II says. “With minds blown, the leadership of Good Church stepped into action, researching as much as possible about hygiene poverty and its effects, especially on children.”
Due to decreased access to laundry services due to financial, location, or transportation barriers, there was an evident need for something like Good Laundry.
Housed in the 3,000-square-foot lower level of Good Church, the low-cost laundromat opened in August of this year. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation granted $80,000 to the United Way of Genesee County to support the buildout of Good Laundry.
Robinson II explains how hygiene poverty has a trickle-down effect on those populations experiencing the issue. It’s also a growing crisis that’s often overlooked and underfunded.
“This issue is particularly prevalent in the North side of Flint where many residents do not have laundry units in their homes and have to travel a significant distance to the nearest laundromat, which poses issues for families dealing with hygiene poverty — such as lack of transportation, travel costs, and the cost of washing for a family unit.”
Having to decide between paying for utility bills or hygiene essentials has an impact on the health and wellness of millions of Americans, says Robinson II.
“Parents who cannot provide hygiene essentials for their children feel an elevated level of emotional strain,” he says. “Studies have shown that access to clean clothes builds a person’s sense of self-worth and dignity. When a family has access to laundry facilities, their chances of securing steady employment and reducing their children’s absenteeism from school increase. Wearing clean clothes provides children and youth with confidence and defends against bullying, stigmatization, ridicule, and rejection. Clean clothes can make the difference between a family’s sense of confidence or feelings of defeat.”
While waiting for the rinse cycle at one of the 17 commercial machines that cost 50% less than traditional laundromats, residents can also engage with the volunteer staff, community agency representatives, and tutors to help provide additional support services. Good Laundry is also planning to help further combat absenteeism within three school districts in the future.
“We plan to launch Flint Clean, a day scheduled weekly at Good Laundry where students and their families will have free access to the laundromat. A volunteer community liaison will be placed at each school to deal with hygiene poverty concerns and filter students and their families through immediate access to hygiene needs,” Robinson II says.
So far, Robinson II says the community’s response to Good Laundry has been shock, curiosity, and excitement.
“We also hope to connect with other organizations to people in our community,” he says. “Our big dream would be to model this type of service and to train other schools, churches, etc. to build this type of structure in their facility in similar communities.”
To learn more about Good Laundry, visit: goodlaundry.life or call: (810) 785-9971
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