Health Cycle Mobile Laundry – Preventing skin irritation and illness with clean clothes.

Affordable housing and homelessness

County of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a countywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

The Health Cycle Mobile Laundry Program addresses a critical yet often overlooked issue—hygiene among homeless individuals. Limited access to clean clothing leads to skin infections, such as impetigo, scabies, and fungal infections, and increases the risk of respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses due to bacteria lingering on unwashed fabrics. For example, a homeless individual suffering from athlete’s foot may struggle to heal because damp, dirty socks foster bacterial growth. Similarly, someone with eczema may experience worsening symptoms due to clothing covered in irritants. Many prioritize food and shelter over hygiene, but washing their bodies and then putting on dirty clothes negates the benefits of personal care. By providing free mobile laundry services, this program prevents infection, promotes dignity, and supports holistic well-being, filling an essential hygiene gap in public health.

The Health Cycle Mobile Laundry Program tackles hygiene poverty, a crisis affecting millions. Studies show that one in three low-income families struggle to afford basic hygiene necessities, including laundry detergent. Without clean clothes, individuals face higher risks of skin infections like impetigo, scabies, and fungal infections, as well as respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses due to bacteria lingering on fabrics.
For homeless individuals, the impact is even greater—dirty clothing can worsen existing skin conditions like eczema and athlete’s foot, leading to painful infections. Many shelters lack laundry facilities, forcing individuals to wear unwashed clothes, negating the benefits of personal hygiene. This program provides free mobile laundry services, ensuring access to clean clothing, reducing health risks, and restoring dignity. By partnering with shelters and outreach programs, we help break the cycle of hygiene-related illness and social stigma.

We aim to provide clean clothing to 500 people annually, improving hygiene and dignity for those experiencing homelessness. In 2021, we met Trex, the eldest of 13 children, struggling to support his siblings after his parents were disabled in a car crash. He turned to sex work for survival, and through our outreach, we connected him with organizations specializing in sex worker support. We provided hygiene essentials, work uniforms, condoms, and water, but clean clothes remained a missing resource. If this program had existed, Trex and his siblings could have had fresh clothing, reducing their risk of skin infections and illness.
Short-term, we will bring immediate relief through mobile laundry access. Long-term, we will expand beyond Los Angeles County, reaching the Bay Area, where rent inflation has driven high homelessness rates. This expansion will ensure more communities have access to critical hygiene support, fostering health, stability, and dignity on a wider scale.