KarunaNews Story

Inspired by a desire to reduce waste and help others access clean and dry clothing, Rosie Zuckerman and cofounders Ilya Arbatman and Alex Muñoz Viso started Laundry to the People in Reno, Nevada, almost a year ago. It is a mutual aid organization offering free laundry services each week to Reno's unsheltered populations. At first, they would pick up people's belongings and shuttle them to the laundromat, but after encampment sweeps, the organization could no longer sustain that practice. Instead, organizers spread the news about the location via word of mouth or flyers. In the grand scheme of Reno's housing crisis and rising income inequality, helping people with laundry services may not address root causes of any problem, but it can mean the difference in maintaining a job or feeling more comfortable. "It's definitely a Band-Aid. But it is a small thing I can do. At least I know somebody can have some clean clothes and not have to wear dirty socks and dirty underpants, or a moldy smelling blanket," said Zuckerman. Laundry to the People provides detergent and pays for the washing, the laundromat pays the cost of drying the clothes.