Leah Filler: Radical Hospitality - One Shower at a Time

What if you couldn’t take a shower when you needed one? For over 7,500 people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco, this is the daily reality - only 16 public shower stalls are available on a drop-in basis for the thousands of men, women, and children living on our streets.

Lava Mae is not your average San Francisco startup. The nonprofit mobile hygiene service for the homeless began by repurposing retired transportation buses into showers and toilets on wheels. Today, Lava Mae’s mobile revolution is taking Radical Hospitality to the streets and bringing humanity, innovation, and collaboration to the way homeless services are provided. In a world where we increasingly connect more to our digital devices than to each other, where being homeless often means being invisible, Lava Mae believes that compassion is as simple as honoring another’s humanity. Join Leah Filler, founding team member, to debunk myths about homelessness and learn about the innovative solutions being born right here in San Francisco.

Transcript

2. 7,500 people moving through homelessness in San Francisco
3. 71% of respondents were living in San Francisco when they became homeless. Of those, 49% had been living in San Francisco for 10 years or more.
9. With hygiene comes dignity and with dignity, opportunity
13. Radical: This level of care and innovation are rarely extended to people moving through homelessness. 
 Hospitality: It’s rooted in generosity; we go gladly as many miles as it takes to deliver a feeling of comfort and care. 
 To the streets: That’s where people moving through homelessness are. Radical Hospitality