

Startup aims to create mobile showers for homeless - nose
http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/2013/04/new-san-francisco-startup-aims-create-mobile-showers-homeless

======
epo
A worthy endeavour but doesn't this render the term "startup" so generic as to
be meaningless? This is a new charity at best, it is not a business. So in
what sense is it a startup? Unless you label every new organisation a startup,
in which case you have rendered the term meaningless as it simply means
something which didn't previously exist and so presumably calling something
which existed last week a startup is by definition incorrect.

------
oakaz
San Francisco also needs public restrooms ASAP. Bart station entrances in
downtown and Mission District heavily smell pie most of the time. Especially
yesterday evening, I felt really sick when I was entering the Bart in 16th
Mission.

~~~
gyardley
San Francisco has placed quite a few public restrooms on city streets in the
past - I believe as part of a partnership with an outdoor advertising company.
For the most part, they became disgusting centers for drug use and
prostitution. I didn't know they'd closed, but I'm not surprised they did.

Until San Francisco is willing to aggressively crack down on illegal behavior,
which it's not, it can't have nice public facilities, for homeless people or
otherwise. This includes things like the entrepreneur's well-intentioned
mobile showers - criminals will destroy them, too.

~~~
nkzednan
In Seattle, they put in public restrooms but then had to take them out a few
years later for similar reasons as why the ones in SF closed as they were
being used for other things. For more info:
[http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/High-tech-public-
toil...](http://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/High-tech-public-toilets-
going-to-waste-city-told-1216439.php)

------
coldcode
I spend too much time on HN, I read this as "create mobile browsers for
homeless" which clearly makes no sense.

------
ezraroi
Nice idea, good to know that there are people that are still trying to fix the
world

------
kimlelly
It's really nice when people want to do good. They deserve our full respect.

Having said that, we, as a society, need to understand that we must correct
the sick systems we've built and have come to accept as "the new normal".

In other words: Homeless people don't need showers. They need to receive a
system which prevents them from ending up as homeless people. Homeless people
are homeless because we, as a society, have accepted that we create homeless
people. Other countries have successfully avoided this (take a very close look
at how Switzerland works), why can't we?

To correct that, we need a social security net:

\- Mental health care for everybody who needs it

\- Sound financial aid for the unemployed

\- Put minimum wage above slavery levels: $20/hr AT LEAST

~~~
BjoernKW
It's not that easy. Germany's social security system for instance provides all
of that yet still there are homeless people in Germany. Probably on average
not as many as in San Francisco but still noticeable.

I'm no expert on that matter but I suppose the causes of becoming homeless are
too diverse for the problem to be solved easily and not all of these causes
can be attributed to society. Debt, drug addiction, mental health issues to
name but a few.

~~~
onli
Germanys social security system is effectively flawed, as it can decide to
give people no money at all and thereby produces homeless people. Even without
drugs and big debts and mental health issues, if you lose your job and got bad
luck with the person working on your case, it is way too easy to become
homeless. Even in Germany.

------
dror82
You are right, but yet, this is a nice start to fix the current situation.

~~~
kimlelly
Absolutely, the "band-aid"/short term help IS needed and the people behind it
should get support.

As to why we still haven't eliminated the tragedy/ies at the root:

-> A few rich people control the media

-> control our vision of our nation's priorities (financially profitable wars VS taking care of our own brothers and sisters)

-> control of our votes

-> control of our nation's policies

-> REPEAT CYCLE

