Shower Power NYC Brings DIY Handwashing to New York City, NY
December 20, 2020
The Backstory: The Move from Pioneer to Pandemic Hygiene
Shower Power launched in 2017, becoming New York City’s first mobile hygiene provider bringing showers to the streets of Harlem for people experiencing homelessness. Everything changed when COVID-19 hit and it became clear that the world was entering into a crisis. They partnered with Doctors Without Borders and used their shower site as one of its COVID-19 relief stations, but they also wanted to do more. Because the pandemic has greatly reduced access to water for their unhoused community, Shower Power set a goal to help fix this by building and distributing DIY handwashing stations designed by LavaMaeˣ.
Delivering Radical Hospitality for unprecedented times
We hear it and we see it everywhere: to prevent the spread of COVID-19 we have to wash our hands. But what happens if you don’t have access to clean water?
In order to bridge that gap, Shower Power wanted to provide an affordable, community-oriented solution and saw LavaMaeˣ’s DIY handwashing model and toolkit. They replaced the high fees of rental units with these community-built handwashing stations that are maintained by organizations who have relationships with the people that they serve.
These quality handwashing stations offer a high-capacity solution, providing up to 500 handwashes before needing to be refilled. They meet the life-saving need to keep hands clean, and serviced by people who know and care about these communities. Radical Hospitality is all about meeting people where they are, and that is exactly what the Shower Power team has done with their hand washing units.
After building their handwashing stations at an artist’s warehouse in Brooklyn, Shower Power deployed them to partners who would be in charge of the units’ maintenance. The disposal of the gray water became a concern for some folks, but the Shower Power team guided them through the process and shared the resources they needed to succeed.
“The handwashing stations have allowed us to start a relationship with partners that have great resources and even locations we may be able to bring showers to in the future,” says Julia Chambers, a Shower Power board member. “One station is in the city with a harm reduction clinic, and the other is in the Bronx—which is a totally new audience for us.”
How LavaMaeˣ Helped
LavaMaeˣ provided the funding and the guidance to help Shower Power build these units with their step-by-step toolkit and how-to video. Shower Power did not have the funds nor the capacity to start a handwashing program on their own, and that is where LavaMaeˣ stepped in.
Sam Reardon, the handwashing program lead at LavaMaeˣ, reached out to Julia to let her know about the program, and now have a total of four fully built units, three of which are operating and a fourth is currently looking for a home.
Keys To Success
Julia emphasizes collaboration as a key to Shower Power’s success.
“I think we have had the most incredible success by fostering relationships with organizations that support us,” she says. “It is important to take advantage of resources that are already out there instead of trying to create the wheel yourself. Recognize where there are common goals and be empowered to take on pieces that have been barriers to others. If you have the same goal, it doesn’t matter who’s doing it; rather than competing, work together to achieve common goals.”
How To Help
To learn more about Shower Power NYC and to get involved, visit them at showerpoernyc.org and follow them on social media @showerpowernyc
Want to bring DIY handwashing to your community? Learn how here, or you can donate to support the project.
