Fall River Laundromats Offer Free Laundry Services For Those Struggling

Two laundromats in Fall River are doing their part to give back to the community they serve with the gift of free laundry services.

Ejaz Hassan is the owner of Kam’s Food Mart on Second Street. In 2022, he said he realized there was a need for a laundromat in that part of the city so he opened ‘Kam’s Laundromat’ at 415 Second St.

“This was one of the needs in the community as the community in Fall River is growing in this neighborhood,” he said.

“A lot of people over the years have moved from another city to this city probably because of the living cost.” With more people, came more demand.

Hasssan opened his doors during the summer with a plan for expansion, and a willingness to help his community.

“When we opened the business I already had this goal in mind to give back to the community that way we earn the money, and we also invest it back to the community,” said Hassan.

A few months after opening, John Milkey, a Fall River resident, approached him about doing that. Milkey works for the national non-profit ‘Laundry Love’ that provides free services to low income people in areas they’ve partnered with.

“Laundry Love makes it so people who cannot afford laundry, or need extra assistance during the month, they can come here and get their laundry done for free. Absolutely no charge,” said Milkey. “The average household spends about $200-$300 per month on laundry if they do it like every week.”

Hassan, agreed that Kam’s Laundromat would be a part of the program.

For the past year, every last Wednesday of the month, from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., people can do their laundry for free.

“It’s been awesome. It’s been crazy since the first time we did it and every month it’s been going up,” said Hassan.

It includes free washers, free dryers, detergent, dryer sheets, and laundry bags if needed. There’s free WIFI for people waiting and parking.

Hassan also invites people to walk over to his convenience store for a free cup of coffee.

“We do our best to provide something that is different than other laundromats,” said Hassan. “I think we should uplift the community in a way that we can. There are many ways people can do it, and this is a way that we can contribute to the community. Inflation is high, cost of living is increasing, and there are a lot of people in the city who need this help.”

Milkey is there every Wednesday of each month to help people with the free services. There’s 22 washers and 32 dryers.

“We’ve helped wash over 11,000 pounds of laundry since then and I think it really really helps the community of Fall River,” said Milkey. “This is something that’s been needed for a long long time especially since the increase of the homeless population in Fall River. There’s a lot of people living in tents, in shelters, who don’t have access to laundry services and being able to come here do laundry completely free it’s a huge benefit for them.”

A few weeks ago, a few miles away, the Star Laundromat, formerly known as East Coast Laundry, jumped on board with the program too. The location at 529 Quarry St. recently came under new ownership, who also wanted to do their part to give back to the community.

They offer free laundry services the second Wednesday of every month.

“It’s awesome that they have agreed to do this,” said Milkey. “I do get lots of appreciation. People come up to me they say, ‘Thank you so much for this program. It’s been such a help.”‘ I’ve had people say to me that they were really strapped this month, and they didn’t have money to do their clothes, and coming here really helped them out.”

Milkey is at both locations during the free service days. For those who can’t make it during the designated hours, he does take appointments.

For more information or to setup an appointment, Milkey can be reached by phone at (508) 571-5132, email Jmilkey05@gmail.com, or Check out Fund Rasing page.