Mobile Laundry and Showers
for Indianapolis’s homeless youth.
Taking inspiration from The Washbus - a joint creation of Flowing with Blessings and the Georgia Tech School of Industrial Design - we designed a mobile laundry facility for Outreach Indiana, a non-profit serving homeless youth in Indianapolis.
Work by Audrey Brienza, Elene Wang, Dana Sanchez, Min Kang, Sumin Hyun, Hunter Deal, and Julia Byrne.
The Build-Out
To give Outreach Indiana our best vehicle recommendation, we had to balance carrying capacity with cost.
The vehicle and all equipment had to be below 26,000 lbs to avoid a CDL, and cost under $100,000 for the entire build-out.
We recommend a 26 ft pre-owned box truck for maximum weight and floor plan capacity.
How it Works
User Flow
We considered user experience from the perspective of both the volunteers operating the vehicle and the youth using the facilities.
For volunteers, ease and efficiency are priority. The generator and water system are accessible through side hatches for quick hookups and easy disposal.
For the youth using the mobile facilities, dignity and access are the most important features. We ensured they would maintain autonomy by managing their own laundry and designed a single-user shower stall for privacy.
Impact
*5-days a week, on a single tank per day
*7-day week, with two tanks per day
Depending on frequency of usage, we estimate that our mobile laundry and shower facility could support 6,000 - 8,400 uses per year.
