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Homeless Shelter Goes Green

Back in January 2008, the East Oakland Community Project opened their newest facility, Crossroads. It's the first homeless shelter of its kind: it has a solar-paneled roof, nontoxic paint, hydronic heating, and furniture made from pressed wheat. The building is being promoted as the intersection of environmental and social justice issues, espousing an ideology that claims "the building has to be healthy to make people healthy."


photo by Flickr user whizchickenonabun Indeed, Crossroads aims for the highest level of health and comfort for its residents. According to Wendy Jackson, the Executive Director of the East Oakland Community Project, most of the residents of the facility suffer from asthma, allergies, H.I.V., or diabetes. Inside the building there is an examining room for check-ups with medical volunteers, and in the wing for homeless families, there are bathrooms with tubs for bathing small children, as opposed to the more typical showers for all residents. Rooms and bathrooms are similarly set aside for transgender residents.

It may sometimes appear that green building is a novelty, but the additional features of the Crossroads building actually reduce the high energy costs of operating such a large facility, sparking discussion that many new shelters will be built using Crossroads as a model. If this is so, there are many green and ecologically friendly nonprofits to contribute: The Kresge Foundation has a Green Building Initiative geared towards grants which "advance environmental sustainability through green design and construction"; blueEnergy is a non-profit "that provides a sustainable solution to the energy needs of marginalized communities"; and GreenHOME, run out of Washington, D.C. is an example of "how to make affordable housing and its neighborhoods green."