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The hissing sound of air brakes announces the arrival of the baby-blue Muni bus\u2014its sign reading \u201cOne shower at a time\u201d\u2014as it pulls into its destination 16th and Capp streets.<\/p>\n
Founded in June 2014 by Doniece Sandoval\u2014with help from organizations such as the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) and Google\u2014Lava Mae is a nonprofit that has taken decommissioned Muni busses and retrofitted them with showers and toilets for the city\u2019s homeless.<\/p>\n
Sandoval said the large number of those who lack access to essential hygiene services inspired the idea for Lava Mae, which was one the finalists in the 2014 Google Impact Challenge\u2014receiving $100,000 to begin the project.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gives you the feeling as if you have your own place and you\u2019d just walked out of your own shower,\u201d said Dianne Washington, a graduate of San Francisco State University, who holds both a bachelor\u2019s and a master\u2019s in humanities. Washington is homeless and has been using Lava Mae\u2019s services for about a month.<\/p>\n
According to the 2015 San Francisco Homeless Point-In-Time Count & Survey, there are 6,686 homeless adults in the city (250 more than in 2013) and 853 youths. Lava Mae\u2019s work hasn\u2019t gone unnoticed by the city\u2019s homeless community.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe organization has served as a teacher to us. It has truly changed my life,\u201d said Javier Leon, who is homeless and has benefited from the use of Lava Mae\u2019s services. \u201cThe best part is that they don\u2019t look down on us or see us any different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Yet despite making an impact within the city\u2019s homeless community, Lava Mae organizers say there is still work to be done.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of our plans for the future is to work with other service providers,\u201d said Lava Mae Mobile Service Manager Michael McMorrow. \u201cWe have two buses in service and plan on retrofitting the other two. We are also planning on getting a shower trailer.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Mission Neighborhood Resource Center\u2014a community program of the Mission Neighborhood Health Center (MNHC)\u2014located at 165 Capp St., was the first to partner up with Lava Mae. The center plays a role by distributing information to its members, such as notifications of new routes or time changes.<\/p>\n
How it works<\/strong> \u201cThere is no identification required, just a first and last name,\u201d said Alejandro Valadez, MNHC representative of community programs.<\/p>\n The bus walls are coated with soft baby blue paint and fluorescent sky lighting. The light, shining down from the ceiling, is a vivid way to make an individual feel clean and fresh.<\/p>\n With two showers per bus, each unit provides a digital controlled shower, toilet, sink and small changing room, with an intercom located inside each shower for emergency purposes.<\/p>\n Disabled people and families may use the wheelchair accessible shower in the front of the bus, while other patrons use the narrow shower in the back. Lava Mae provides its guest with shampoo, towels and fresh socks.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel very clean,\u201d said Washington. \u201cThey provide Tea Tree body wash, which is good to wash away the germs.\u201d<\/p>\n Lava Mae also accepts donations in the form of money or hygiene kits that guests can take with them. Common donated items include razors, shampoo, bar soap, toothbrushes and Crest toothpaste, Q-tips and hand sanitizer.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to think we provide a good service because the showers are clean and we also provide toiletries,\u201d said Valadez.<\/p>\n Water for the showers is drawn from fire hydrants using an adjustable hydrant wrench. The bus has both an engine room and a mechanical room where a 50-gallon water heater is powered by a propane tank.<\/p>\n In addition to donations, Lava Mae relies heavily on volunteers, like Matthew Stone. A first-time volunteer and 10-year resident of the Mission, Stone heard about Lava Mae while donating to a Kickstarter campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cI really liked the idea of helping people get clean and shower in the Mission,\u201d said Stone. \u201cLava Mae could help their chances of getting a job by being more presentable.\u201d<\/p>\n Lava Mae now has a total of five stops: two in the Tenderloin, one in the Castro, one at Civic Center, and one in the Mission. The Mission Neighborhood Resource Center was Lava Mae\u2019s first ever stop. The bus runs from Tuesday to Saturday, with hours of operation varying depending on days and location.<\/p>\n Only 10 minutes are allotted to shower in the Tenderloin, due to the overwhelming number of guests. In contrast, the Mission allows up to 15 minutes per shower, and families are allowed up to an hour.<\/p>\n \u201cThe time limit has been an absolute success,\u201d said Lava Mae volunteer Bruce Orzalli. \u201cThere hasn\u2019t been any complaint since I\u2019ve been here.\u201d<\/p>\n Lava Mae has changed the lives of people like Washington and Leon, and welcomes everyone to get involved by donating time or supplies.<\/p>\n \u201cLava Mae is not about ending homelessness,\u201d Sandoval wrote in a statement on Lava Mae\u2019s website. \u201cWhat we are about is providing hygiene because we believe hygiene brings dignity and dignity opens up opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nRegistering for a shower must be done at the center prior to using Lava Mae\u2019s service, where staff and volunteers use an Apple iPad to register applicants.<\/p>\n