FAMILY SHELTER COMMUNITY SEWING PROGRAM
Women in Need, Liberty Family Residences, Brooklyn, NY
Over the last few years many New York politicians have boasted about reducing the homeless population, however Coalition for the Homeless statistics show that the homeless population of New York City has increased over 65 percent in the last decade, from 21,000 individuals in 1998 to 38,000 in 2009(1). Homeless families are the largest growing demographic, making up over a third of the population. Throughout the five boroughs there are a total of 199 shelters, 148 of which are family shelters. On average, a single individual stays in a shelter for around 22 days while families stay for around 304 days(2). At many shelters throughout New York, the spaces provided are not working well for either residents or staff.
Through community meetings at the Women-in-Need family shelter in Brooklyn, TYTHEdesign listened, observed and learned that the closet spaces were not being used efficiently by the community and were becoming a hazard for the staff. Working directly with the shelter residents, TYTHEdesign co-created a series of closet organizers that meet different needs, protect from dust and rodents and could easily be assembled by the community. To empower shelter residents a education program was developed, and a workbook was created to teach basic hand and machine sewing skills including step-by-step instructions on how to make the closet organizers.
TYTHEdesign worked directly with the community to identify problem areas and generate programmatic solutions that would benefit the shelter beyond the functions of the actual product that was being created. In helping the shelter address problems with efficiency through program development, TYTHEdesign was also able to help the community grow together and become empowered to improve their own living situation.
The system TYTHEdesign created with the shelter residents provides long-term programmatic value as well as skills that can be utilized outside of life in the shelter. This program is easily replicable among other shelters or institutions as well, with room for adaptation and expansion. Currently we are working with a local NYC shelter to create a business model that can be adopted within the shelter community to provide a source of income.
(1) "Coalition for the Homeless" 2009
(2) "Department of Homeless Services Daily Report" 2009
