A mobile laundromat is making the rounds of Athens in which the homeless of the capital can wash and dry the clothes and feel good in the comfort of clean clothes.
The “Ithaca Laundry” is the idea of two young people with university degrees who created a van with two washers and two dryers and make the rounds of the city at night to help the homeless wash their clothes and feel better, even for a little while.
“When a homeless can wash his clothes and be clean, he automatically feels better. First of all, it makes it easier for him to do his daily routine,” explains 23-year-old Thanos Spiliopoulos, one of the two founders of “Ithaca Laundry” and responsible for organizing the project.
“By offering homeless people the opportunity to have clean clothes, we give them a psychological boost to feel part of society,” says 23-year-old Fanis Tsonas, co-founder and person responsible for the technical aspects of the mobile laundry operation.
Spiliopoulos and Tsonas started the project at the end of 2014 with a scholarship they received from the Angelopoulos Clinton Fellowship scholarship program and a sum of 10,000 euros. With three more volunteers and two sponsorships, they started the “Ithaca Laundry” operation in the autumn of 2016.
The project is also in collaboration with the City of Athens. The operation of the mobile laundromat is simple. Initially, the team and volunteers will be contacted by the homeless and then they will go to certain collection places and pick up the clothes. Then they wash and dry them. The whole process takes about 2 hours. The water supply is from nearby parks or from other parts of the municipality where the van will park. The mobile laundromat operates on specific, well-known and distinct points in the city.
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