A not-so-radical plan to address a basic human need for cleanliness is at the heart of what local non-profit RadiCalgary worked towards in 2023.

The organization, which also runs bi-annual pop-up care villages for Calgary’s unhoused community, wanted to create a mobile shower pilot program to help provide barrier-free hygiene for those same community members.

The project took a big step forward this month after RadiCare co-founder Bill Zheng was a recipient of Mazda Canada’s Rising Legends program, which awarded him $50,000 as a recognized youth leader in Canada.

“We’re hoping to do a more comprehensive needs assessment, and also start a smaller private project, potentially like a mobile tent shower this summer just to see what the the intake looks like,” said Zheng.

“The remainder of the money will be porting to fundraising for a complete mobile hygiene unit, which will consist of a trailer with shower and toilet stalls in there, as well as the truck which will pull the trailer to certain locations.”

The RadiCalgary team was also the second-place finisher in the Samsung Canada Solve for Tomorrow Challenge and first place in the UCalgary World’s Challenge Challenge.

Pilot plans build on successful program in San Fransisco

RadiCalgary co-founder Hanna Woodward described the project’s design as being based on a similar hygiene outreach vehicle used by LavaMaeX in San Francisco, in a writeup of the team’s plans for Vibrant Communities Calgary in June.

Zheng said that working as a harm reduction outreach worker, and as an adult care worker at the Calgary Drop-In Centre, made him personally aware of how badly needed hygiene services are needed by unhoused individuals.

“I’ve been sharing that constantly; hygiene accessibility is a huge issue in Calgary,” he said.

That anecdotal information, he said, was backed up by a qualitative research project that he undertook with the University of Calgary.

“I interviewed folks who are sleeping rough—so unsheltered homelessness—and a huge, huge concept that’s come up has been they are unable to access any adequate shower hygiene services,” Zheng said.

Addressing the hygiene issue, beyond providing human dignity, was also a way of addressing perceived social disorder said Zheng.

“Even just looking at it from the perspective of people who are experiencing homelessness, they want to feel clean physically. There’s just not a space for them to be able to do so adequately,” he said.

“A lot of the social disorder is very involved with presentation and perception of folks. We are really quick to judge folks just based on their first glance, first appearance, and if folks are able to stay clean, it is less likely for them to be actually identified as a potential social disorder problem.”

Ultimately though, said Zheng, for the hygiene project to be a success and to make a difference, there was still a need for organizations and individuals to get involved.

“We are looking for community partners, who are able to partner with us, for example if we bring our shower setup to a community organization where our clients can use our shower service,” he said.

“Additionally, $50,000 although it’s a great start, is not going to cover all expenses for even just the capital setup. If there is a company that really feels a corporate social responsibility, and would like to contribute—it doesn’t need to be financial, but financial be great—but even just volunteers or some sort of donation… we can collaborate on that.”

For more details on RadiCalgary’s hygiene project, see www.radicalgary.ca/programs-and-services/mobile-hygiene.