Everyday essentials can make a meaningful difference for someone experiencing homelessness or housing instability. At Tracy Community Connections Center (TCCC), we provide practical resources to help our neighbors maintain their health, comfort, and dignity. Right now, our shelves need a little help restocking some of the hygiene products and personal care items our clients rely on.
Our Mobile Shower Program offers more than a place to get clean. It gives people access to hygiene supplies, clean clothing, and compassionate support in a welcoming environment. Having fresh socks, clean underwear, or basic toiletries can help someone feel more comfortable and confident as they navigate daily life, look for work, or take steps toward more stable housing.
What Hygiene Donations Does TCCC Need?
We’re currently looking for donations of the following items:
Men’s underwear in sizes M–XXL
Socks
Small or travel-size shampoo
Conditioner
Lotion
Bar soap
Deodorant
Razors
Sunscreen
Body wash
Whether you can donate a few items or organize a larger collection, your contribution helps us keep these essentials available when they’re needed most. If you’re shopping for your household, consider picking up a few extra items to share with someone in our community.
Shop Our Givelink Wishlist
Want to make donating even easier? TCCC partners with Givelink to offer an online wishlist of needed supplies. You can browse available items, choose what you’d like to purchase, and have your donation delivered directly to support our programs.
Our Givelink wishlist is a convenient way to help us meet current needs. Because the list highlights items we’re looking for, you can feel confident that your purchase is helping provide practical support to our neighbors.
Prefer to shop locally and deliver your donations in person? Hygiene and other accepted in-kind donations can be dropped off at:
New Heart Church
1647 Bessie Ave., Tracy, CA
Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 9 a.m.–1 p.m.
Every donation, big or small, helps TCCC continue serving people experiencing homelessness and housing instability in Tracy. Thank you for helping us keep these everyday essentials within reach and showing our neighbors that their community cares.
We’re excited to celebrate a new addition to Tracy Community Connections Center’s Mobile Shower Program! Our new shower trailer began serving the Tracy community on September 14th of this year, giving us the ability to provide even more people with access to a safe, clean place to shower.
The new trailer has three showers instead of two, allowing our team to serve more people during each mobile shower program. While adding another shower may seem like a small change, it means more community members can access an important service that supports health, hygiene, and dignity.
We’re especially grateful to our generous sponsors, Sutter, Sandia Foundation, and Raymus Foundation. Their support helped make this new shower trailer possible, and we couldn’t have done it without them.
The Mobile Shower Program is one of the ways TCCC works to meet people where they are and provide practical resources to members of our community experiencing homelessness. With three showers now available, we can reach even more people and continue building connections that can lead to additional resources and support.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the Mobile Shower Program and helped us grow. We look forward to celebrating this milestone with you!
Everyone should have access to information about how to participate in their community, including information about voting. This October, Tracy Community Connections Center (TCCC) is hosting two Election Education Events during our regular Shower and Laundry Programs to help community members learn more about voter registration and the upcoming election.
These events are focused on providing information and answering questions. If you are unsure whether you are registered to vote, want to learn more about what will be on the ballot, or simply have questions about the voting process, TCCC staff and San Joaquin County representatives will be available to help.
October 5: Election Education at the Shower Program
October 5 | 9 a.m.–1 p.m. New Heart Church 1647 Bessie Ave., Tracy, CA
During our Shower Program, TCCC will be available to help clients check their voter registration status, learn about voting, and register to vote if they are eligible.
San Joaquin County will also be on site to support the education effort. County representatives will have games, conversation starters, educational materials, and some fun swag to share.
October 20: Election Education at the Laundry Program
October 20 | 9 a.m.–12 p.m. Redemption Road Church 72 E. Grant Line Rd., Tracy, CA
During TCCC’s Laundry Program on October 20, our team will be available to help unhoused community members check their voter registration and learn more about registering to vote.
San Joaquin County representatives will again be joining us with educational materials, games, conversation starters, and swag.
Not having a permanent home address does not automatically prevent an eligible person from registering to vote. California allows people experiencing homelessness to register using a description of the location where they spend most of their time, while providing a mailing address where they can receive election materials.
Whether you have questions about your registration, want to better understand the voting process, or simply want to learn more, we welcome you to stop by. TCCC is proud to help connect our community with information and resources that can make civic participation more accessible.
On August 29, 2026, Tracy Community Connections Center (TCCC) had the opportunity to bring the experiences and stories of local people experiencing homelessness into the spotlight through a special art show and film screening at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts.
The centerpiece of the evening was an art project that grew out of TCCC’s mobile shower and laundry programs. While clients waited for a shower or for their laundry, volunteer Lynne Millar encouraged them to create artwork and write down thoughts about their experiences. The project gave people a chance to be creative while also sharing perspectives that are often overlooked.
Local photographer Casey Goodall became involved in the project and photographed about 20 people who volunteered to have their portraits taken. Six of those portraits were displayed at the event alongside artwork and written statements created by people who participated in TCCC’s programs.
For TCCC Executive Director Carrie Grover, the project was about more than creating something beautiful. It was an opportunity for people to feel seen and valued.
“What it really did was give them a sense that they were important, that they matter, that people care about them.”
That message was reflected in the portraits themselves. Goodall described the experience of photographing people and talking with them as surprisingly familiar and positive, much like being at a family gathering and simply getting to know people through conversation.
The artwork also showed how creativity can provide a meaningful outlet during difficult circumstances. TCCC chaplain and shower attendant Nathan Arbuckle shared the story of a man who had recently been hit by a car while riding his bicycle. When invited to create something, he chose to draw a guitar, something he was passionate about. For someone going through a difficult period, that simple opportunity to create became an uplifting experience.
The evening also highlighted what can happen when people have access to support, compassion, and opportunities to move forward. Grover shared the story of one woman featured in the project who had experienced homelessness in Tracy and had stayed in contact with TCCC. About two years ago, she decided to get sober. Today, she has a home in Stockton with her partner, works full-time, and helps care for her children and grandchildren. She now encourages others to pursue sobriety, housing, and employment.
Her story is an important reminder that homelessness is not the entirety of someone’s story. People can experience homelessness and later find stability, reconnect with family, build careers, and become sources of encouragement for others.
The art show also included a screening of No Address, a 2025 film about people experiencing homelessness and the circumstances that led them there. TCCC was one of the homeless service providers selected to receive proceeds from screenings of the film, and the organization was also given permission to show it for free in a group setting.
At TCCC, our work begins with meeting people where they are. Sometimes that means providing a shower or a place to do laundry. Sometimes it means connecting someone with housing, employment, healthcare, or other resources. And sometimes, it means giving someone a camera, a pencil, or a piece of paper and the opportunity to tell their story.
The art show offered our community a chance to see homelessness through a different lens that recognizes the people behind the circumstances and the dignity, creativity, and potential that every person carries with them.
There are moments in community work when something that may seem small from the outside represents an enormous step forward. At TCCC’s Shower Program, our growing team is creating more opportunities to support clients not only with basic needs, but also with the encouragement, relationships, and practical help they need to move forward. For one longtime client, that support recently helped lead to a milestone years in the making. Here’s an update from our Shower and Laundry Manager, Debbie DeGravelles:
We have so many positive things happening in our shower program. One of the biggest improvements has been expanding our team. John joined us as a case manager and has been an incredible addition. We also welcomed Danielle, a client/volunteer through Cal Works. Danielle has a special gift for making everyone feel welcome. She is a friend to everyone and helps create a warm, encouraging environment.
Because of these new team members, we have been able to surround our clients with support in ways we couldn’t before.
One client’s story especially stands out:
R.A. has been living on the streets since he was 10 years old. He left school at that age and has spent most of his life surviving without the support many of us take for granted. Some have even described him as “feral.” He has been using our services for more than five years, and throughout that time we have continued to encourage, support, and believe in him.
Although R.A. is around 40 years old, he had never been able to obtain a state ID. Without identification, many opportunities remained out of reach.
Recently, R.A. began helping our team with setting up and tearing down the shower program each week. Having this responsibility has given him a sense of purpose and helped him feel like a valued part of the Tracy Community Connection Center family.
For years, we encouraged R.A. to get his ID, but he faced many barriers that prevented him from doing so. With the support of our expanded team, we were finally able to help him overcome those obstacles. Our outreach team provided transportation to the DMV, and another client accompanied him so he wouldn’t have to face the process alone.
This week, R.A. received his state ID in the mail.
This simple piece of identification represents so much more than a card. It opens the door to employment, housing, benefits, banking, and many other opportunities that were previously out of reach. We know R.A.‘s journey isn’t over, but this is a major milestone.
We are grateful to celebrate this victory with him and remain committed to walking alongside him as he continues building a brighter future.
R.A.’s new state ID is more than a piece of identification. It represents new possibilities. With his ID in hand, doors to employment, housing, benefits, banking, and other opportunities can begin to open. We know his journey is still unfolding, but we are proud to celebrate this important step and grateful to be able to walk alongside him. As Debbie and the Shower Program team have seen time and again, progress can take time, but patience, persistence, and a community willing to believe in someone can make a meaningful difference.
