Today we’d like to introduce you to Christian Clements.
Hi Christian, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
In November 2021, I was helping deliver meals to a few of the encampments around Minneapolis. At the time, the social uprising surrounding the murder of George Floyd and being in the midst of a global pandemic, I realized that our unsheltered neighbors are the front line of one of society’s biggest issues. Not willing to allow these people to be forgotten, the wheels in my mind started looking for what is missing in this under-served and marginalized community. These thoughts helped me realize that access to hot showers and hygiene is a human right, and a missing component in our community.
Having watched my neighbor build portions of his house, I asked him if he had any dreams of building a tiny home. He didn’t have any plans. But, I ran with the idea of building a tiny home, but for showers, by him. He thought that it didn’t sound like a completely crazy idea and allowed me to continue bouncing ideas off of him until we were able to do more research and figure out how to proceed. A few internet searches did not result in the information that we were looking for. Upon this conclusion, we decided that we would take matters into our own hands. Using our area’s resources, we looked around and thought that the base of our mobile shower trailer should be a hydraulic ice fishing trailer to help with accessibility. Somewhere in this process, I made a Facebook post asking my friends to help us design and figure out the blueprints for such a contraption. My buddy Levi Wolsterstorff stepped up to the challenge. Levi is an Engineer that has helped race two solar cars across the Australian Outback and has had a course on fluidity dynamics. Our project wouldn’t be viable without Levi. Ben Yanz has also joined our team. Ben is a General Contractor with 20 years of experience. His expertise in materials and construction have also been an integral part of our progress.
As we continued to build on ideas and started to see Levi’s rough drawings, we were put in contact with Lava Mae. Lava Mae is the leader in a movement known as Radical Hospitality. Lava Mae operates mobile showers in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Lava Mae also helps support others in getting their mobile shower trailers into communities. Their support has helped guide us into the process of troubleshooting mobile shower trailer issues, as well as providing funding information and best practices.
What started as a fast and furious DIY venture, we realized the magnitude and scope of our project would require slowing things down a bit and that it would take long term funding. Learning as we went and continually checking in with Harm Reduction teams and other groups serving the encampments, we came to the conclusion that entering the world of nonprofits would be the best route for our project. We are almost ready to file our application for 501c3 status and are currently supported through crowd sourcing via our GoFundMe Campaign. Through this campaign, we have been able to purchase our hydraulic ice fishing trailer, hire a lawyer to help file our nonprofit application and begin preliminary prep work to the chassis of our trailer. Our next step is to begin welding C-Channel steel to our chassis and place the waste water tanks in the area that will become the sub-floor for our shower stalls.
Our design has four standard shower stalls and an ADA compliant stall for differently abled PEOPLE. Because of local and state regulations, we are required to have our own fresh water source and capture system for waste water. We will use propane fueled tankless water heaters to provide a reliable source of consistent hot water. We hope to provide 40 hot showers per water cycle and plan to do two cycles a day. Our trailer will pair with other outreach services such as: harm reduction, wound care, mental healthcare, and others. We have adopted the harm reduction mindset of “unconditionally meeting people where they are at.”
We are currently working out of a shop in South Minneapolis. As of 4/7/2022, we’re in a brief holding pattern as we raise funds for our first round of materials and while our welder is unexpectedly out of town for a family emergency. Once we receive 501c3 status, we are able to begin applying for grants and receive tax-exempt donations. We expect to file in the next couple weeks. Once we are able to receive these larger donations, we will order the rest of our materials, appliances, and hope to start testing by the end of June.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It’s been a smooth road that is uphill at times. I say that it’s been smooth because we are a completely volunteer team working on a really big idea. We would have loved to be washing butts all along, but we’re learning as we go and forcing deadlines won’t produce the organic results required to wash those butts. Patience is one trait that has already been built into the ethos of our mission.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I have had a fairly colorful life. Many of my friends are artists, musicians and creatives. These friendships have allowed me to tour with crappy punk bands and express myself in non conventional ways. I’m 43 now, but at 35, the right people said the right things that led me to getting over my fear of making visual art. I hadn’t made art since I was a kid, but being self-employed allowed me to see some of my creations in the public eye. The advice a friend gave me was: “work big, work fast and know when to quit.” I still paint like a nine-year-old, but I just don’t care. I love the creative space in my head and that’s why I paint. Making art has allowed me to conceptualize ideas and be bold with who I am.
How can people work with you, collaborate with you or support you?
We are currently crowd sourcing our funding through our GoFundMe Campaign. In the future, we will be looking for staff, volunteers and outreach resources to pair with. We can be reached via email via [email protected]. Financial support of our mission can be made at https://gofund.me/e57834e0.
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Website: https://gofund.me/e57
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