Rewards Sani-Centers (JB Dondolo)

We are committed to solving sanitation and hygiene issues in underserved communities to reduce poverty and promote gender equity. Central City East California’s, colloquially known as Skid Row, homeless population, predominantly consisting of people of color, lacks access to sanitation and hygiene.  As a result, access to hygiene remains one of the most critical barriers to restoring people’s dignity, health, and self-worth in this area.

We are proposing solar-powered Sanitary Center machines (Sani-Center) that offer safe and easy access to sanitary supplies, safety products, and medical supplies to restore health and dignity, powered with a rewards system that helps people of color generate wealth and lift out of poverty. Our solution would positively change lives and prevent illnesses benefiting 10,000 Skid Row residents. If scaled globally, at least 1.45 million urban homeless citizens could benefit in the top 5 cities with homeless populations alone.

Globally, over 150 million people are homeless or live in substandard housing. Across the United States, an estimated 550,000+ unhoused people lack access to sanitation and hygiene due to poverty according to Capone et al’s “Water and Sanitation in Urban America, 2017–2019.” People of color also experience homelessness at disproportionate rates. In the National Law Center on Homeless & Poverty “Racism, Homelessness, and COVID-19” fact sheet, a Black or African American is nearly 5 times as likely as a White person to be homeless, 2 times as likely if a Hispanic or Latinx, 13 times as likely if a Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, and 4 times as likely if a Native American.

People and communities of color experience housing and economic insecurity at higher rates due to historic and present racist policies. Housing costs rise, the racial wealth gap is wide, and job security is low, all issues exacerbated by COVID-19. In Skid Row, California, the homeless population covers over 50 blocks, known for nearly a century rife with these issues. Currently, there are over 10,000 citizens residing here with an expected increase of 20–40% once the eviction moratorium ends on June 30.

Our solution implements technology-based, solar-powered Sanitary Center machines (Sani-Center) that offer safe and easy access to sanitary supplies, bottled water, safety products, and medical supplies. Machines will be suitable for outdoors and housed under a shed to accommodate hot temperatures. We will have remote monitoring technology, so we know when to refill. Alongside the Sani-Centers, we will introduce a rewards system with remote managing technology to encourage proper disposal of trash and recycling into respective bins. This will improve the sanitary conditions individually within their dwellings as well as across the borough as people on Skid Row will earn points for rewards by maintaining cleanliness. Skid Row will attain wealth through use of tokens.  Also, we will offer other resources for the community through scrolling signs on machines plus messages included into each sani-product.

  We will seek permission from the city to put portable sani-center machines and sheds in various locations across Skid Row and encourage our target audience who are people of color to participate so we can monitor and evaluate how, when, why, and who are earning rewards so we can learn and continuously improve their lives.

Our target population are the citizens living in Central City East, California. The population is upwards of about 10,000 consisting mostly of people of color. Specifically, the population is a majority Black male population, which presents an issue disproportionately affecting Black and African Americans. In the Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, it was reported that the total Los Angeles homeless population (~91,000) population is 39% Black while the total Los Angeles County is only 9% Black and African American. Additionally, 25% of homeless are Hispanic or Latino, and 7% multi-racial and other. Over the recent years, women and children who are residing in Skid Row are increasing as well. Many of these citizens have health issues, mostly from substance abuse and/or mental illnesses. They are underserved and lack access to sanitation and hygiene, thus have poor health. Current hygiene services make it possible to give everyone living on Skid Row a chance to shower once every 3-5 days, yet access to hygiene remains one of the most critical barriers to restoring people’s dignity, health, and self-worth in this area.

To understand Skid Row’s needs, we are currently working with value partners on the ground to analyze and collect data that we need to further refine our proposed technology solution. We expect to visit Skid Row and talk to people and officials. We are also scheduling meetings with the city to have conversations and work on how we can collaborate with appropriate departments on needed services.

Our constituents are drivers of addressing the problem in a few key ways. This visiting the area, talking to the people and listening to understand their needs. We use human-centered design thinking in our theory of change which is our map to impact. Our intentional feedback mechanisms are put in place to keep us informed for careful monitoring and evaluation. Our collaborative decision-making is centered in constituent engagement to put forward real solutions proposed that will be made for implementation. Our team also comprises of constituent demographics who specialize in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging.

There are many intersectional issues that this solution addresses. Access to hygiene remains one of the most critical barriers to restoring people’s dignity, health, and self-worth in this area. Our solution will address Skid Row needs by offering safe and easy access to sanitary supplies, safety products, and medical supplies. Another issue is access and opportunity to wealth generation. Our solution is powered with a rewards system that helps our target population to encourage people to think about themselves in terms of self-improvement as they get the sani-products, to enable them to position themselves for wealth generation.

Our messages are meant to uplift and provide resources for the community so they know that there is opportunity and help nearby.

The problem is lack of access to sanitation, hygiene and wealth for the homeless population in Skid Row of 10,000 residents.

Our solution integrates access to sanitation and hygiene with technology by implementing solar-powered Sanitation Center machines. We ensure systems sync and connect digitally, including monitors to proactively act before issues materialize.

We are solving a problem that disproportionately affects people of color while fostering inclusion, improving health and sanitation outcomes, and restoring dignity through the provision of tools and access to wealth generation.

We selected the idea stage for our solution because we need to test and finalize our wealth generation model for our rewards sanitation system in collaboration with the city government and other community leaders. We also need to determine the feasibility of the solar-based and technology-driven Sani-Centers. That way, we can adjust before we implement and scale. The community where we are testing this product is in Skid Row, California, with a population of up to 10,000 unhoused people of color. Once implemented and monitored, our scaling will then be throughout all of Los Angeles County which is a target 91,000 unhoused population. 

Our solution is innovative because while there are stations to attain feminine products at no cost in a few sparse locations across the country, there are no vending centers located in communities that are easily accessible to the residents. Additionally, this would be for various kinds of sanitation and hygiene products not limited to feminine hygiene. This also offers to benefit not only the unhoused populations but also can be scaled for other audiences even in the workplace. Looking at the possible results of monitoring and evaluating this program, this could turn into a public policy issue to, once again, highlight the “tampon tax” but also to shed light on the living conditions and human rights of the homeless. As such, this solution is catalytic across sectors.

Our sani-center solution could be a catalyst that is expected to change the underserved populations of people of color, women and girls, and other vulnerable populations by improving health and sanitation. Additionally, this program would contribute to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in various aspects including even sustainable communities by implementing a program that uses solar technology and helping to provide resources and wealth creation needed to get out of poverty. In total, this contributes to 8 of the UN SDGs.

Our 5-year projection impact on communities we serve is broken down into:

• Current-year: we expect to serve 10,000 unhoused people on Skid Row, California
• 1-year: we project to serve 91,000 unhoused people in at Los Angeles County. 5-years: we project to serve 550,000+ unhoused people across America and at least one African country, namely Zimbabwe.

We look at the SDGs as our guide. We do not just look at the quantity of people we impacted, we look at the testimonials and apply a radical listening approach for similar solutions from other communities.

Poverty (SDG 1): Our goal is to get as many people out of poverty as possible, working together with the UN to achieve this goal by 2030.

Gender Equality (SDG 5): We recognize that to provide clean water, sanitation, and hygiene for all requires a gender lens focusing on women and girls as primary water collectors. This is one of the key measures of progress in achieving gender equality.

Clean Water and Sanitation (SDG 6): By 2030, achieve universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water for all.

By 2030, achieve access to adequate and equitable sanitation and hygiene for all and end open defecation, paying special attention to the needs of women and girls and those in vulnerable situations.

By 2030, expand international cooperation and capacity-building support to developing countries in water- and sanitation-related activities and programmes, including water harvesting, desalination, water efficiency, wastewater treatment, recycling and reuse technologies.

Water, sanitation, and hygiene is at the core of who we are and helping one another through international cooperation is how we have helped make a difference in the lives of many already.

  We’ve been awarded a UN Global Leadership Award for implementing clean water and sanitation and became partners with the UN Global Water Partnership.

We are a team of volunteers with 11 members and 3 interns.

Our team consists of individuals whose professional backgrounds are diverse across private industry, government, academia, and nonprofits who have all been awarded for their efforts. Our CEO, Directors, Strategists, Interns, and Advisors are committed to the cause and mission. Because of our commitment to the cause, we’ve been awarded a UN Global Leadership Award for advancing Sustainable Development Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation, an effort which also reduced infant mortality.

We work as a “team” using Agile methodology which requires continuous improvements with a set of meetings and retrospectives to review how we work as a team and do better going forward. We value and respect each person’s input, ideas, and feedback because each person deserves to be heard. To change anyone’s life, change starts with us first.

Working with the team has helped me understand the experiences of those we serve. They have empathy and patience for the people we serve because what we do requires that to understand what people are going through requires you to walk in their shoes and feel their pain.

Our team is eager to take on new challenges. We are well-positioned to deliver the Sani-center solution. Our business model calls for working with science and technology value partners to deliver a robust product. 

We are an equal employment opportunity employer. We welcome people from diverse backgrounds. Since one of our goals is to create a diverse, equitable and inclusive world, change really starts with us. We believe that we’re all created equal and we all deserve to be treated equal and given equal pay for comparable work, regardless of gender, race, or origin. We foster belonging, openness, integrity, and mutual respect. We uphold the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and are committed to anti-racism in our work.

 We plan to grow a bigger team of diverse people.

We’re applying to Solve for the opportunity to:

• Receive access to funding in grants and investments.
• Join a class of impressive peers that act as trusted support group, offering inspiration and guidance.
• Join a powerful network of impact-minded leaders across industries and sectors.
• Access mentorship, coaching, and strategic advice from experts, as well as the Solve and MIT networks. 
• Receive monitoring and evaluation support to build an impact measurement practice.  Gain exposure in the media and at conferences.

• We need publicity to brand/market our sani-center.
• We also need to which investors to pitch to for possible funding of our solution.
• We also need to know where to source talent to grow our board team,
• We need help expanding our client base so we can successfully implement our product. We need to build a tech team to take care of our IT needs.

We would like to partner with:

• Organizations that would advise and mentor us on product development.
• Organizations that would support us with our marketing and communications. 
• Organizations that would help us build connections to investors and grantors to help maintain a reliable cash flow.

We qualify for this prize because we provide sustainable water-sanitation-hygiene solutions that directly address the health and well-being of people in the US. We aim to raise the health of everyone in the United States by using a health equity lens to place well-being at the center of every aspect of life.

We are committed to solving sanitation and hygiene issues in underserved communities to reduce poverty and promote gender equity. Central City East California’s, colloquially known as Skid Row, homeless population, predominantly consisting of people of color, lacks access to sanitation and hygiene.  As a result, access to hygiene remains one of the most critical barriers to restoring people’s dignity, health, and self-worth in this area.

We are proposing solar-powered Sanitary Center machines (Sani-Center) that offer safe and easy access to sanitary supplies, safety products, and medical supplies to restore health and dignity, powered with a rewards system that helps people of color generate wealth and lift out of poverty. Our solution would positively change lives and prevent illnesses benefiting 10,000 Skid Row residents. If scaled globally, at least 1.45 million urban homeless citizens could benefit in the top 5 cities with homeless populations alone.

We qualify for this prize because we implement water-sanitation-hygiene solutions that help create smart, safe, and sustainable communities around the world. We're recognized as the UN Global Leaders for our work.

We qualify for this prize because we are Advancing Digital Equity in underserved and impoverished communities through water access to promote and advance inclusion, digital literacy, and economic opportunity in communities across the US and globally.

We qualify for this prize because we implement water-sanitation-hygiene solutions that use innovative technology to improve quality of life for women and girls in underserved and impoverished communities.  We are innovative and developing smart systems that support technology-focused projects and advance the needs of women and girls globally and ensure women’s voices are heard. 

We qualify for this prize because we implement water-sanitation-hygiene solutions that leverage data science, artificial intelligence, and/or machine learning to benefit humanity. Also, we plan to utilize these technologies to amplify our impact globally. We thrive to create equitable and sustainable future for all.