Flowing with Blessings Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Atlanta’s homeless population, has teamed up with industrial design students from Georgia Tech to develop an innovative Mobile Laundry Bus, according to the university’s News Center. Founded by Nicky Crawford in February 2022, Flowing with Blessings provides essential services such as showers and clean clothing for those in need. Georgia Tech reported that Crawford’s commitment to alleviating the daily struggles of those they serve — by helping individuals preserve their cherished belongings and maintain personal hygiene without the stigma often associated with homelessness — inspired the creation of the mobile laundry bus. Crawford bought a school bus to convert it into a mobile laundry service, going to Georgia Tech for help with the process. The initiative, led by Steve Chininis, professor of practice at the School of Industrial Design, involved students Zaria Hardnett, David Hounyo, Lily Liang, Claudia Ross, and...

Maryland resident Omolayo Adebayo turned a four-year-long dream of hers to help the homeless into an innovative nonprofit for the community. After Adebayo’s nonprofit — The Neighborhood Well — raised $50,000 to purchase a mobile shower, the 32-year-old rolled out the unit in October 2021, Fox 29 reports. According to Adebayo, the vision for an innovative way to help the homeless was first spurred in 2017. “It came from a dream, from God,” Omolayo Adebayo told the outlet. “It was a mobile shower, a man in front of it saying ‘Thank you’ and that was the dream.” She continued: “And that came around the time God was pushing me to start a non-profit,” she continued. “So once I had that dream, it solidified…this is what the non-profit was for.”

San Francisco Mayor London Breed, Airbnb and Twilio Inc. have announced a $2.7 million commitment to helping the city’s homeless. The funding will support the Rising Up campaign, which provides housing and job placement services to more than 500 young people in San Francisco. Rising Up plans to cut the homeless population in the city in half within the next four years. The donation from Airbnb and Twilio will be used for expanding Rising Up’s capacity. According to a  county and city report almost 7,000 homeless residents lived in San Francisco in 2017 — an increase of over 4 percent since the 2015 count. “Shelter is a basic need, yet on any given night, nearly 1,200 young people sleep on San Francisco streets. This is our hometown, and we have a responsibility to help those young people in need of housing and job opportunities,” Airbnb Co-founder and CEO Brian Chesky said in a press release. Homelessness and income inequality are ongoing problems in cities with booming tech sectors...