LavaMaeˣ Collaborates to Deploy Handwashing Stations in Skid Row

 

April 24th, 2020

 
 

As part of our Clean Hands For All campaign, LavaMaeˣ and The Right to Shower provided seed funding and soap to deploy 25 additional handwashing stations in Skid Row.

The Skid Row neighborhood of Los Angeles has the city’s highest concentration of people experiencing homelessness. Sanitation access has always been extremely limited, and now in the age of COVID-19 there is a new grassroots response by community stakeholders to dramatically expand access to the #1 fight against the virus: handwashing.

The Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN) and the USC Annenberg School of Communications launched this grassroots effort by co-creating a DIY handwashing station to deploy in the Skid Row community. They first began with five pilot stations on the street, and quickly made plans to expand these stations by the dozens.

LavaMaeˣ heard the news of this grassroots effort, which inspired us to create our own DIY handwashing station and toolkit. Soon afterwards, we teamed up with LACAN, USC Annenberg and the Skid Row Housing Trust to expand this initiative by galvanizing our partnership with The Right To Shower to provide seed funding and soap for an additional 25 stations in Skid Row.

LACAN is at the heart of building and maintaining these handwashing stations, partnering with community allies, LA makers, and local artists to help transport, build, and beautify them. This network of artists, DIY makers, and volunteers was co-created with USC Annenberg who help keep it vibrant.

The Skid Row Housing Trust, along with housed neighbors and community street attendants, will ensure these handwashing stations are cleaned, filled with water and liquid soap, and stocked with paper towels.

LavaMaeˣ is a proud partner of this initiative, taking a huge step forward in our collaborative effort to bring handwashing to every community that needs it.

Interested in bringing handwashing to your community?

LACAN’s Handwashing Stations Map

 

Email updates and additions to handwashing@skidrowpower.com - please include: - location (use the marker's name if updating) - a status description - add a picture or video if you can Thanks!

 
 
 
 
Colton Coty