Watching the faces of those attending a monthly event she organizes brings a smile to LisaAnn Wheeler.
“This is one of the most beautiful things I do. I have eight events in the works, but that monthly event is something magical. If you come, you leave changed,” said Wheeler, the patient navigator for the health department’s breast and cervical cancer program, of the Georgia Department of Public Health.
For eight months, she’s organized DPH presents: Project Refresh Shower Day. The next one is set for 9 a.m. to noon, March 28, at the Department of Health, 950 Laney-Walker Blvd.
The training room, where the haircuts and manicures are given, is often packed with people, she said.
At the February event, a couple received showers and free haircuts, thanking Wheeler before leaving.
“They were the cutest,” she said. “They told me ‘we feel like shiny new pennies.’ They left looking totally different and with resources.”
Wheeler participates in multiple outreaches each month, providing information on breast and cervical cancer. At a recent event, she also distributed COVID testing kits.
Wheeler also serves on the homeless task force and is aware of available resources and organizations working to help. Several months ago, the idea of partnering with Project Refresh, an organization that has a mobile shower unit, began to stir.
“God just spoke to my heart. That’s all. When you follow his footsteps, everything comes into place,” she said.
Project Refresh is one of the agencies she’s partnered with. Students from Augusta Technical College and Empire Beauty School for haircuts and manicures. GAP Ministries, Church of the Most Holy Trinity and First Presbyterian Church are among the other organizations represented.
“The churches make bag lunches. There’s breakfast with hot coffee. There’s a lunch and the to-go bags,” she said.
At the March event, Wheeler said there will be a “grits bar” for breakfast.
In addition to the food, people also receive clothing and shoes as well as information on community resources.
The city of Augusta also provides free bus transportation to the health department from several spots including the Salvation Army, the Master’s Table Soup Kitchen and GAP Ministries.
Wheeler said she loves that so many people and organizations come together to help put on the event.
“It’s surprising how it comes together,” she said. “After I’m done with clean-up, I think, ‘wow that really happened here.’”
Other events are scheduled for April 30, May 31 and June 28.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for 35 years. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
