day he also gets a haircut and a beard trim—
the closest thing, he says, to a trip to a New
York barbershop. After serving time in prison
in New York, Rivera was released in 2003
and headed straight into the shelter system
with an untreated mental illness and serious
trauma. A few years later, he moved to the
West Coast, where he has lived, without a
home, ever since. For Rivera, LavaMaex is more
than a place to get cleaned up; it’s a place to
be treated with dignity. “It’s the only family
I’ve got left,” he says. Luna, dried, fluffed, and
dressed in a coat, sits in his lap. “The staff gen-
uinely cares about you. They don’t care how
you come. Just come.”
San Francisco has the third-largest home-
less population in the country (after New
York and Los Angeles)—more than 17,000
people—and lacks enough shelters to offer
assistance and services. When former public
relations executive Doniece Sandoval founded
LavaMaex,in 2014, she put as much energy
into thinking about how to care for this popu-
lation as she did into figuring out how exactly
to an impressive system of hoses and genera-
tors, LavaMaex’s two trailers bring hot showers
to the streets, making them available to any-
one who needs one. Bathroom time is limited
to 15 minutes, which means they are able to
offer about 40 showers a day. For “Pop-Up
Care Village” events like this one, LavaMaex
brings in other organizations that offer free
clothing, toiletries, haircuts, massages, and
acupuncture, along with therapy and health
services. Locations are chosen for their prox-
imity and accessibility to the unhoused popu-
lation, as well as, of course, water access.
“It makes me feel like Superman putting on
that Superman suit,” says Janel Wilson of her
shower. After her 15 minutes washing, shav-
ing, and brushing, Wilson heads to a station
outside the trailer to finish her regimen. There,
she works lotion into her feet and wiggles
them into a fresh pair of socks (provided by
LavaMaex). Later, she says, she’s going to put
on some makeup.
Bronx-born Luis Miranda Rivera has been
to LavaMaex a few times and always show-
ers with his Maltipoo, Luna. On this pop-up
B
A
C
K
G
R
O
U
N
D
B
E
A
U
T
Y
“It makes me feel like
Superman putting
on that suit.... Their water
is therapy for me.”
Below, from left:
Donations like
clean underwear,
socks, toothbrushes,
tampons, and
more are available
to anyone who
needs them;
Wilson preparing
for her shower.
46 ALLURE APRIL 2020
