Shower to Empower: New Shower Program at the MLK Community Center (via MLK Center)

Good morning, Newport! Today is Wednesday, June 25, the 176th day of 2025. There are 189 days left in the year.

🚨 You need to know

The MLK Community Center is addressing a basic need many Newport residents take for granted with the launch of its new free showers program, offering shower facilities to community members without access to their own.

The bi-weekly program will hold its next session on Tuesday, June 24, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., featuring a shower trailer positioned behind the Center. The initiative follows a successful pilot program on June 10, where one grateful client declared he felt “like a million-dollar man” after using the facilities.

“Personal hygiene is something most of us take for granted but many people in our community do not have access to a shower,” said MLK Community Center Executive Director Heather Hole Strout. “After listening to our community, we realized this was an unmet need, so we are happy to be able to provide this service that will help boost the self-esteem and confidence of the participants.”

The program provides a comprehensive experience for users, offering shampoo, conditioner, soap, and fresh towels for each session. Clients are given ample time to use the facilities without rushing, creating what organizers describe as a stress-free experience.

The shower trailer, provided through a partnership with Hallman’s Septic and Portable Toilets, features three separate stalls with individual entrances to ensure dignity and privacy. Connected to the Center’s water and electricity systems, the trailer provides a bright, warm environment for users.

Volunteers play a crucial role in maintaining the program’s standards, ensuring privacy for clients and thoroughly cleaning the facilities between each use to guarantee a clean and safe experience.

The Newport Fraternal Order of Police and the Newport Firefighters IAFF Local 1080 are jointly sponsoring the upcoming June 24 session. Community members interested in sponsoring future sessions can contact MLK Community Center Director of Development Alyson Novick at anovick@mlkccenter.org or 401.846.4828 x102.

Donations to support the program can be made through the Center’s online portal.

Shower to Empower: New Shower Program at the MLK Community Center (via MLK Center)

What else you need to know

💰 The Rhode Island General Assembly approved a $14.34 billion budget for fiscal year 2026 on Friday (June 20), addressing significant financial challenges while prioritizing healthcare, housing, and municipal support despite looming federal uncertainties.

👉 The Aquidneck Island community is coming together to support a local teenager whose life was forever changed by a tragic accident that shocked the state earlier this month.

🗓️ Newport City Council will host a Regular Council Meeting this evening at 6:30 pm. Here’s a look at what’s on the docket.

📈 Yesterday’s most-read

The following were yesterday’s most-read What’sUpNewp articles.

  1. Portsmouth Police arrest repeat DUI offender with BAC over three times legal limit
  2. What Sold: A look at 22 homes that recently changed gands in Newport County (June 16 – 20)
  3. Former Newport mayor fined for campaign finance violations
  4. Obituary: Kimberly Boiani
  5. Historic Newport estate sells for nearly $8 Million, marking city’s highest sale since September
  6. Cities with the most expensive homes in Rhode Island
  7. Community rallies around teen injured in Portsmouth stairwell collapse
  8. Winners announced for 29th Annual Newport Flower Show at Rosecliff
  9. What’s Up in Newport County this week and weekend: June 23 – 29
  10. Obituary: Edward Hannon

📅 What’s Up Today

Weather Forecast

  • Heat Advisory until June 25, 7 PM
  • Air Quality Alert
  • Today: Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 pm. Increasing clouds, with a high near 88. Light and variable wind becoming northwest 5 to 7 mph in the afternoon. The chance of precipitation is 30%—new rainfall amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms.
  • Tonight: Isolated showers and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers after 2 am. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 66. Calm wind becoming northeast 5 to 7 mph after midnight. The chance of precipitation is 30%—new precipitation amounts between a tenth and a quarter of an inch, except higher amounts are possible in thunderstorms.

Marine Forecast

  • Today: Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming NW around 6 kt in the afternoon. Scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly after 2 pm. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • Tonight: Variable winds less than 5 kt becoming NNE around 6 kt after midnight. Isolated showers and thunderstorms, then a chance of showers after 2 am. Seas 1 ft or less.
  • The coastal water temperature is 66 degrees.

Sun, Moon & Tide

  • Sunrise at 5:12 am. Sunset at 8:23 pm. 15 hours & 10 minutes of sun.
  • High tide at 8:18 am & 8:44 pm. Low tide at 2:17 am & 1:31 pm.
  • The lunar phase is a New Moon.

Things To Do

Live Music & Entertainment

  • Buskers: Open Mic with Mike Warner at 9 pm
  • Fastnet Pub: Trivia at 9 pm
  • JPT Film & Event Center:
  • Landing: Mike Milazzo at 12:30 pm, Nick Sproviero at 4 pm, at Jim Devlin at 8 pm
  • Newport Vineyards: Funkademic at 5 pm
  • O’Brien’s Pub: Eoin Egan on the patio at 4:30 pm
  • One Pelham East: Karaoke at 9 pm
  • Ragged Island Brewing Company: Summer Concert Series featuring Mr. Chubb at 4 pm
  • The Firehouse Theater: Family Friendly Funnies at 7 pm

Newport County Public Meetings

Cruise Ship Schedule

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...