The Empowerment Plan

When Veronika Scott was a junior at Detroit’s College for Creative Studies, a class assignment called for designing a product that would fill a need. Her classmates focused on trying to create the next electronic sensation, but Scott set about meeting the needs of Detroit’s 20,000 homeless people.

Scott spent time talking with the city’s homeless population, and what she learned set her on a path to meet two of their urgent needs. First, Scott discovered that people living on the street need a way to stay warm during the winter. So, for her class assignment, she created a self-heated, waterproof coat that transforms into a sleeping bag. Made of Tyvek®—DuPont’s lightweight construction membrane used to insulate houses against the elements—and wool army blankets, the coat works by keeping in body heat while keeping out cold air. Scott called the coat “Element S,” with the “S” standing for survival.

And with that, Scott completed her assignment. But rather than stopping there, she then spent $2,000 of her own money to produce prototypes of the Element S coat and find ways to get lots of them produced. One big break came when she convinced the CEO of Carhartt, the Michigan-based clothing manufacturer known for its durable workwear, to donate materials and equipment. Then all she needed was workers.

Scott approached the officials of a Detroit homeless center, called Cass Community Social Services, with a plan to pay homeless people to make the coats. Today, Cass Community employs a group of once homeless women to construct the coats, in exchange for a place to stay, food, and a minimum-wage pay-check.

“The Empowerment Plan,” as Scott calls it, not only gives warm coats to people living on the streets, it also teaches them a trade that could ultimately get them off the streets forever—and give them back their pride. And with that, Scott filled the second essential need of Detroit’s homeless.

“The importance is not with the product,” Scott is quick to point out, “but with the people.”