After more than five years of showering with LavaMaeˣ, our beloved guest Luis found a new home!
Luis has been involved in our work for years. Not only by utilizing our shower services but also by taking lead in managing our Guest Volunteer Program at our San Francisco Pop-Up Care Villages.
When we expanded to Oakland in 2018, he signed up to be a part of the City of Oakland’s new Tuff Shed Program on 6th and Castro so that he could leave San Francisco and try to get housing. LavaMaeˣ was providing showers at many of these Tuff Shed sites at the time and he would shower with us every day with his dog Luna before appointments, before work, and after work.
One time he went to three of our shower locations in one day just to hang out with each team!
Luis has been waiting for permanent housing in Oakland for some years now, and in March 2023 the City of Oakland released 200 emergency vouchers for Section 8 housing his name was on the list. He came to our Pop-Up Care Village event that morning to share the good news. Our team was overwhelmed with joy!
Luis is a reminder of the impact of Radical Hospitality and perseverance. He plans to use his voucher to stay in Oakland for the foreseeable future. Congratulations Luis, we Lava you!
To learn more about Luis’ story, you can watch Netflix’s Oscar-nominated documentary short Lead Me Home.
