by Nathan Boddy
Some people are able to take hard situations, and turn them into something new and wonderful. One such person is Stefani Jackson, who several years ago lost a job in healthcare following her own medical complications. The turn of events did not stop her, however, and Jackson took the opportunity to ask herself the very real questions about what she really needed out of life.
“I needed a purpose,” she says about the realization, and thereupon set out to find a way to provide a lift in the dignity and self worth of others. Recalling her own youth while growing up in a motorhome and doing laundry in a horse trough, Jackson had another realization about what simple cleanliness could do for others in need. While she says that she is no grant writer, she began the process and was successful in securing a community grant through Walmart.
It was 2019 when she started the non-profit, Loads of Dignity, which provides a free way for homeless and low-income people to wash and dry clothes at the Fast n Fluffy laundromat in Hamilton. Participants schedule a date to do their wash by contacting Loads of Dignity, and arriving at the laundromat on the scheduled appointment day. In addition to the wash, participants can be provided with a hygiene bag of goods, shower vouchers and a children’s bag with activity items.
Jackson says that people using the Loads of Dignity service remain completely anonymous while at the laundromat, needing only to provide their first name at the counter in order to receive detergent and get access to a machine.
“When they walk away from that desk, nobody in that laundromat knows that they are (using our service.) It’s important to me.” Jackson says that she sees how important it is for people to feel as though they are in a nonjudgemental, social setting. Having clean clothes and a way to maintain good hygiene goes a long way toward helping them feel accepted.
To illustrate her point, Jackson tells the heartbreaking story of a chance encounter with a small boy whose family had turned to Loads of Dignity for help with their laundry. The boy excitedly whispered to Stefani that he had new friends, which was something that he seemed anxious to report. “He said, ‘I don’t smell,’” says Jackson, “‘and they want to play with me.’”
She also shares the story of watching two young boys rush into the Laundromat bathroom with their favorite pairs of pajamas, fresh from the dryer, in order to put them on while clean and warm.
Unfortunately, there are still many area residents who are need of such services, and those numbers have increased since the recent changes in MERA (Montana Emergency Rental Assistance), which provided rent and utility assistance to Montanans in need following the Covid pandemic. Jackson anticipates many more in need of her assistance and reported that she’d received seven new families applying in the hours before speaking with the Bitterroot Star.
Chapter One Bookstore in downtown Hamilton is hosting a fundraiser and serving as a collection point for Loads of Dignity throughout the month of March. In addition to financial support (which is always welcome) Loads of Dignity can always make use of items such as toothpaste, shampoo, razors, shaving cream, fruit snacks, juice boxes, puzzles and more.
When asked if it feels as though she was successful in finding her purpose, Jackson doesn’t pause. “It does, because I followed my passion and I found my purpose. My passion is people, and self worth and dignity.”
To learn more, visit https://www.loadsofdignity.com or https://www.facebook.com/lodignity.