Process
Partnerships and Clients
After calling many shelters and getting no answers, or not being comfortable being near the homeless people. We decided to have a quick change of plans we decided to take a safer and more reliable option. We decided to go to Bel Air Guest Home, which is owned by Benjamin's Grandmother. This shelter or hospital works with mentally ill people, and even has a homeless program.
The Issue
When we got to choose the problem we noticed that a big problem in Los Angeles is Homelessness. Problems that stop homeless people from getting a job is being mentally ill, no experience, but one thing that people dont look at is Hygiene. Hygiene is something we take for granted, but these products are not just expensive, but it is necessary for life. Problems with Hygiene for the Homeless are diseases, body odor, loss of teeth, and other hygiene problems. Scroll down if you would like to see how we helped with this problem
Research and Define
When we started the research we looked for different data and Solutions. Some of the solutions could be running water, going to a shelter, and more. When collecting data we realized there is approximately 150 million homeless people in the world. We each researched 6 documents, and haven't come upon a life changing invention. When seeing this we knew we could make a life changing invention.
Ideate
When thinking of an idea or invention we listed 40 different options that could help the problem, but one idea illuminated a lightbulb in each of our minds. We stared deeply at the idea of a hygiene kit with compartments or cabinets. The reason of why it is better than the other hygiene bags is that this more personal, organized, and aesthetically pleasing. You may be asking "What do you mean by that?" or "I don't understand. For personal it will feel more like yours instead of a bag with hygiene products. For organization, each section will contain one product in it, and this could help you be more organized because you get to use each compartment. For Aesthetics it will be colored, and made out of wood for more quality, this could boost their mood by feeling that someone cares about them.
When Iterating our first Prototype we created it by using a 3d printer, and designing it on tinkered. We created a hexagon shaped double decker box with 10 drawers. Unfortunately, when we made it out of cardboard, and crafting it with the lasercutter, We had to improvise our idea instead of drawers we had to design cabinets because if we made drawers the products wouldn't have fit. For it to be more portable we made it one story with 2 slots in each drawer. Additionally, We glued the hinges to the cabinets and exterior of the Rekit. We collected data by handing out surveys to show how much it could help unhoused peoples lives.
Data analysis
From looking at the data we notice that having a personal refillable hygiene kit is much preferred. Out of the 6 people surveyed 5 said that it would improve their quality live, and four even said it would improve their quality of life even if it wasn't personalized. This data shows that when the unhoused get something of their own it would increase the care and the happiness for themselves.
My Movie 4.mov
Here was our theoretical process throughout this project!
Launch
When launching our project the amount of people coming was abundant, whether it was asking about the kit or filling out the example survey. Benjamin then got a mini printer than printed out the surveys to give another example of how it works. We each hooked every customer that we saw with our very aesthetically pleasing Rekit. When people came people were very interested. Additionally, we only enjoyed seeing the people there and even some family members.