LavaMaeˣ consults with Unilever’s The Right To Shower to host a Pop-Up Care Village in New York City

 

December 20, 2021

 

With 10 service partners and 25 volunteers, the Pop-Up Care Village brought showers, fresh food, healthcare, family services, and more to the Brownsville community

 

Bringing the Pop-Up Care Village model to New York City

Unilever's The Right To Shower is a social enterprise that donates 30% of its profits from its line of head-to-toe cleansers to support hygiene services for people experiencing homelessness across the United States. As its funding partner since 2019, LavaMaeˣ advises the brand to identify and recommend initiatives for The Right To Shower to fund.

Already inspired by LavaMaeˣ’s mobile hygiene solution, The Right To Shower wanted to do more in its local community by hosting its very own Pop-Up Care Village—another program that LavaMaeˣ pioneered in 2016—to New Yorkers in need.

Pop-Up Care Villages mobilize dozens of service partners and volunteers who bring a variety of essential and restorative care services such as showers, clothing, food, haircuts, case management, healthcare, and much more to the street—all in one place.

“Pop-Up Care Villages create a cohesive, positive sense of community and truly embodies our philosophy of Radical Hospitality--bringing extraordinary care to people who are often left behind.” says Kris Kepler, CEO of LavaMaeˣ, “And when The Right To Shower came to us with the idea of hosting a village in New York City, we wanted to do everything we could to make it happen.”

 

Radical Hospitality in action

The Pop-Up Care Village was hosted outdoors in proximity to public housing developments in the Brownsville neighborhood of Brooklyn, a community that historically faces high concentrations of poverty.

“Even though many of the people we served were housed, they still lack many of the resources they need.” Says Lilah Beldner, Community Engagement Manager of The Right to Shower.

To determine the right service mix for this particular community, The Right To Shower worked with Brooklyn Community Services (BCS)--a local non-profit and critical stakeholder in the community--who also recently launched their own mobile shower bus thanks to the support of LavaMaeˣ and The Right To Shower.

BCS brought in the service partnerships the event needed, securing partnerships such as Centers of Treatment Innovation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, GOD Squad, Brownsville Health Center, Power of Two, Project Hope, and more. Together, these partners served more than 185 guests with showers, vaccinations, fresh food, healthcare, family services, and more.

The Right To Shower, on the other hand, focused on securing brand partnerships such as S’well, Welly, KIND, and Brooklinen to support the event with more than 650 in-kind donations.

 

How LavaMaeˣ helped

Hosting a Pop-Up Care Village was something The Right To Shower and BCS had not done before and as a result, turned to LavaMaeˣ for its 1:1 consulting program to get started.

“LavaMaeˣ was a huge driving force.” says Caleb Zatto, Director of The Right To Shower, “Katie, our LavaMaeˣ representative, joined us on weekly calls to talk with BCS through things like bathrooms, trash, and city permitting. Their Pop-Up Care Village Toolkit was also a very useful tool, providing us with what we needed to ensure a smooth event flow and process.”

 

Ways to support Pop-Up Care Villages

To support the creation of more Pop-Up Care Villages, you can donate here.

 

Want to host your own Pop-Up Care Village in your community? Download our free do-it-yourself toolkit and learn more about our 1:1 Mentorship Program!

 
 
Colton Coty