‘A Shower Is Transformative:’
Lava Mae’s Founder on Feminism & Philanthropy
From ALMA
If you don’t think of homelessness as a feminist issue, you should. We spoke with Doniece Sandoval, Lava Mae’s passionate founder, on how being unhoused affects women differently and the challenges women social entrepreneurs face.
The stats on people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco can be overwhelming: About 7,500 people — including kids, families and people with jobs — are unhoused every night in the city. While the roots of this crisis are deep and wide, restorative experiences for people experiencing homelessness can be really simple, like the chance to take a hot shower. That’s what Lava Mae and its mobile showers have provided to more than 15,000 guests since 2013.
Why is homelessness an important issue for women?
Homelessness is devastating for all people regardless of gender, but for women the challenges are overwhelming. They are disproportionally escaping violence in the home, often single mothers and once unhoused are at greater risk of assault and sex trafficking. They also grapple with the realities of a monthly period and little access to safe, reliable bathrooms.
No one deserves to be unhoused but we must recognize the added risk and burden faced by women and as work to prevent and solve homelessness.
A shower, something so simple that most of us take it for granted, is transformative. It connects us with our dignity and self-worth. It also eliminates obstacles to opportunities like jobs and housing.
”To know that I have 15 minutes to myself, in a safe private space where hot water and wonderful soaps wash me clean is the highlight of my day. I reconnect with who I am; I feel hopeful, and find what I need to hang on another day as I wait for housing to open up.” — Lava Mae guest
The biggest challenge is around equal access to funding. One of the funders supporting us recently conducted follow-up research on the social entrepreneurs in its portfolio. They found that organizations lead by men were funded in amounts almost twice what women-led organizations received. When gender bias exists, it makes it supremely hard to sustain, much less scale, an organization that’s having a great impact.
