Public transit is what many of us use to get home, but what if buses served as makeshift homes for those without one?
A Whitby, Ont., woman is trying to put her project, dubbed the Heat Mobile, in motion. She plans to soon propose an idea to Durham Region to turn some of its buses into warming stations and mobile showers for the homeless.
Robina Brah says she volunteers to help feed the homeless at Memorial Park in Oshawa, Ont., visiting the park once a month with her family and members of her Sikh community.
To help bring her idea to life, Brah is taking a cue from other places. For example, there is a similar initiative in California — Lava Mae started converting buses into mobile showers and toilets in 2013, and the organization now serves the homeless in San Francisco, Oakland and Los Angeles.
Most of Durham Region’s homeless population lives in Oshawa, and many of those who visit the city’s shelters back Brah’s idea.
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“It would be someplace that I could go to have a shower every day and not just three to five days a week,” said Tim Robinson, who visits the Back Door Mission and Gate 3:16.
Mark Kelly, who went to the Gate during lunchtime on Monday, said: “I think that’s a good idea. Everybody could use a bit of help.”
But getting the region on board with the Heat Mobile concept may be Brah’s biggest challenge, as regional chair John Henry says it seems like a short-term fix for the long-term problem of homelessness.
Less than half of Durham rental households can afford average market rent in Durham, which is just under $1,100, according to the region.
Brah, who says she would like to pitch her concept to Durham Region as a viable solution to the problems that homeless people face, wants to see her idea come to life as soon as next year.
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