Two big-hearted Montreal students have created a potentially life-saving mobile shelter for the homeless after one of the girl’s uncles died on the streets.
For their high school science fair project, teens Pasha Jones and Adrianna Vutrano created a two kilogram prototype made of hula-hoops, rope, metal hangers and tarp bought at their local hardware store.
Each shelter costs around $20 to make and now the 15-year-olds hope a non-profit or company will back their invention to mass-produce it for half the price.
“Not everyone chooses to go to shelters, so if they had another option maybe this could help people stay safe during any winter weather,” Pasha told CTV’s Your Morning.
“My uncle, due to mental illness, became homeless and actually ended up dying on the streets due to homelessness, so we wanted to create something that could be a temporary solution.”
The approximately six-foot-long shelter, which folds and expands like an accordion, can have handles added to turn it into a backpack.
The makeshift accommodation is lined with a space blanket that will help keep inhabitants warm during the colder months.
The teens think it should keep a person around six or seven degrees warmer inside than if they were sleeping on the street. They call their invention “A Portable House.”
