How to shower the people with a wave of inspiration

Silas Borden, who is homeless, emerges with a smile after a shower in the Lava Mae bus in the Mission District. Silas Borden, who is homeless, emerges with a smile after a shower in the Lava Mae bus in the Mission District. Photo: Brant Ward, San Francisco Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Brant Ward, San Francisco Chronicle Image 1 of / 13 Caption Close How to shower the people with a wave of inspiration 1 / 13 Back to Gallery

These days, ingenuity and determination are often used for mind-numbingly dumb ventures. Did tech gurus in San Francisco really build an app with the sole purpose of sending texts reading "yo" to their friends? Yes. Yes, they did.

So credit Doniece Sandoval with not only having a creative and significant idea, but also turning it into reality - and helping it take off in cities around the world.

We told you last fall that the 52-year-old public relations executive and Western Addition resident had been moved after passing a filthy homeless woman who was crying and saying she'd never be clean. After learning that the city had just 16 showers for its thousands of homeless people, Sandoval had the unlikely idea of turning decommissioned Muni buses into mobile shower stalls.

Last fall, that was about as far as she'd gotten.

But a couple of weeks ago, she held a test run on Capp Street in the Mission and invited us to check it out. And there it was: a Muni bus painted bright blue with "One Shower at a Time" written on the outside and a long hose stretching from the bus to the closest fire hydrant to get water.

Jose Poot, 24, emerged from inside, his long black hair still dripping wet and a smile stretching across his face. Asked how he felt, the homeless man said, "Bien! Como nuevo." Good! Like new.

Asked how she felt, Sandoval sighed, "Exhausted."

"It's a little surreal," she said. "There were times I didn't think it would come together, but there it is. It's amazing."

Her program is called Lava Mae, similar to the Spanish phrase for "wash me" but turned into a girlie-sounding name. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency agreed to give Sandoval four decommissioned Muni buses, and the Public Utilities Commission agreed to let her hook the buses up to fire hydrants. Sandoval quit her day job and hired a small staff with a total annual budget, mostly from donations, of $317,000.

But that was just the start. The hardest part, she said, was figuring out who could turn old Muni buses into shower stalls - and who could do it nearby so Sandoval could easily check on the progress. She found Sacramento's Airco, which usually designs mechanical systems for commercial buildings but agreed to retrofit the buses for $75,000 each.

Other companies offered bus storage at a discounted price, and still others gave free products including towels, sponges, disinfectant, plumbing, bus tires and more. Kohler provided all the bathroom fixtures and installed them, Dr. Bronner's gave $50,000 and soap, and Google awarded Lava Mae a $100,000 Impact Challenge Grant.

Leah Filler, community engagement manager for Lava Mae, gives tours of the bus to whoever wants them. And it sure attracts plenty of attention parked on the street.

"It's an idea that resonates," she said. "It's something everyone can relate to. "Issues like homelessness can be divisive across political lines, but what everyone agrees on is how important it is to take a shower and what it must feel like to go without."

Inside, the Muni bus looks like its old self in the very front, still equipped with the driver's seat, steering wheel, controls and "stop requested" sign. But just beyond that is storage for towels, soap and other supplies. And just past that is the first shower stall, big enough to accommodate people in wheelchairs.

Painted light blue, it includes a showerhead, toilet, sink, mirror, soap dispenser and bath mat. A radio set to 99.7 plays music. An emergency button allows people to summon help - but, amusingly, also sets off the "stop requested" sign.

Entering through the bus' back door lets people who aren't disabled use a second, smaller shower stall. In the back of the bus sits a giant water tank, a fire hose and other equipment.

This bus, named Lava Mae One, will be in operation for a six-month pilot program through December, and Sandoval plans to get her other three on the road as soon as she can raise the money to retrofit them. But even before Lava Mae One was on the road, the idea had caught the attention of do-gooders around the world.

Sandoval said she gets at least one call or e-mail a day asking how to replicate Lava Mae.

"This morning I woke up, and it was a woman in Sydney, Australia," she said.

She's giving a tour to a team from Kuala Lumpur soon, and is working with people in Los Angeles, Atlanta and Honolulu to set up programs there.

"People see the need. People get it," she said. "It's really catching on."

Her idea has sparked discussions by other people about turning decommissioned buses into dental clinics, medical clinics or coin laundries.

And it all started with one woman's idea.

"One person can start a chain reaction," she said. "It doesn't take a tech executive or a billionaire. Any regular person can start this and be completely amazed at what happens."

Quote of the week

"Your Film Commission has gone mad."

Attorney John Keker, in a letter to Mayor Ed Lee after learning at the last minute that streets in his neighborhood would be closed for movie-making

To donate to Lava Mae, visit https://donatenow.networkforgood.org/LavaMae.

Lava Mae is seeking bus drivers who will be paid $30 per shift. E-mail volunteer@lavamae.org.