This Bus Is Transforming The Lives Of San Francisco's Homeless

Last edited Tue Jul 8, 2014, 02:31 PM - Edit history (1)

Motivated by the belief that everyone has the right to be clean, Doniece Sandoval founded LavaMae, a non-profit with an innovative idea: take old, unused city buses and retrofit them with fully functioning showers for homeless people to use. Last weekend, LavaMae, a play on the Spanish word for “wash me,” launched its first mobile bus.

“Our buses were designed in consultation with homeless people,” Sandoval told ThinkProgress, a process that has taken over a year.

For example, many homeless women expressed concern for their safety and privacy while showering. As a result, Sandoval and her team designed two individual shower pods in each bus, one of which is accessible for persons with disabilities.

Each pod includes not only a shower, but also a toilet, sink, and a space to temporarily store one’s things. Each bus will permit around 30 people to shower on a given day. Once all four buses are running, Sandoval estimates they will be able to provide more than 2,000 showers per week.