These San Francisco buses are changing the lives of the homeless one shower at a time.
Over 3,500 San Franciscans living on the streets aren’t able to shower every day. But all of that is about to change thanks to Lava Mae.
Created by Doniece Sandoval, Lava Mae is a non-profit organization providing showers to the homeless, all onboard retrofitted city buses.
Each bus was converted into a mobile showering space with three showers, a private area for changing, and toilets.
Each one is designed to be fully ADA compliant, too, and costs around $75,000 to redesign.
Why mobile? In a city like San Francisco where real estate prices are exploding, staying mobile ensures the service isn’t subjected to rising rent or potential evictions.
This also means hundreds of homeless people can have access to a hot shower every single day.
Lava Mae runs on donations, so it’s up to local communities to lend a helping hand to keep the project going.
And what’s even more exciting—Lava Mae is in talks to roll out into other cities, too.