Sheltering Homeless On Wheels

Feb. 9—With the assistance of four Rose-Hulman mechanical engineering students, Garri Knezevich hopes to provide homeless individuals with an apparatus that will alleviate their hardships significantly.

Called SHOW (Sheltering Homeless On Wheels), it's the prototype of a trailer that can be pulled by a bicycle that will secure the individual's belongings as well as provide a space to sleep and relax.

Knezevich, who works with a number of nonprofits around town, said he started thinking about the project seven or eight years ago upon hearing that local homeless people were having their tents and other belongings stolen.

The goal was to find the least expensive way to give someone a sense of security if they don't have a home.

Since his priority was to keep costs down by using recycled or upcycled materials, Knezevich attended sessions demonstrating reTHink's upcycling program run by Rose-Hulman professor Rebecca Bercich. He discussed his idea with her.

"I teach Capstone and I said, this would make a really wonderful Capstone project for the right students," said Bercich, referring to a senior-year program at Rose-Hulman in which engineering students form teams to work on problem-solving projects. "We pitched it to the students and there was a very positive response."

Four students — Patrick Kelly, Garrett Janning, Lane Lawrence and Therese Jaeger — chose to work on the bike trailer project above all the other Capstone options. They formed Team E.C.H.O., short for Engineering Community for Homeless Opportunity, and worked with Knezevich.

"The E.C.H.O. team has been instrumental at looking at all the different logistics and the framework, everything," Knezevich said, adding the students collaborated with him on creating a logistical priority list and then followed it closely. "It's really been a dream team in terms of what's occurring here."

Janning said, "This was my No. 1 choice. My whole thing for engineering is, I want to have a job where I make people safer. With the different projects, this seemed like the one that would help people the most and it has the biggest impact on someone's personal safety."

"This is very much within the students' wheelhouse," said Bercich. "Many of the challenges have to do with structural integrity and different loading scenarios, how the bicycle handles with the trailer on the back, How does wind potentially impact the performance, tipping when you take a curve."

"Before we even started building, we had four minds thinking about all the different things the trailer could come in contact with, how to handle that," Janning said.

"We all had different ideas on to stabilize the trailer when it's parked and someone's inside moving around," Janning said. "As of right now, my team and I are very confident we've addressed everything."

The budgetary priority to keep costs down while constructing the prototype involved using recycle materials where possible. Tom Haley of Mervis Recycling donated the metal for the trailer's frame, which substantially lowered its price.

Political campaign yard signs adorn the trailer's interior walls, and carpet remnants lie atop foam padding to make its floor comfortable. The cost for building the prototype came in at $550.

The trailer is large enough for an adult to lie down and sit up in, as well as store possessions.

"I think they have done very well, given the constraints, and I'll be interested to see how it is used and what feedback we get," Bercich said.

"The priorities that I gave to Team E.C.H.O. have been achieved, pretty much," Knezevich said. "I'm just real happy with it, and of course, we'll do some modifications."

A few touches on the prototype remained early in the week — installing windows, locks and monitoring devices and coating the exterior with a sealant — but a trial period will begin next week. One person will use the prototype for two weeks, followed by another test run.

Knezevich has enlisted a man and a woman for the trials. Other homeless people will be recruited by the Loyal Veterans Batallion to test the trailer.

One plan is to sell upgraded models to long-distance bikers who would want to use such a convenience, which would help pay for constructing more.

Knezevich also hopes for grant money to help put 10 trailers on the road in Vigo County by the end of the year, at which point he'll know if they can be built more quickly.

He eventually hopes to take the idea statewide, then nationwide. Other communities would employ different organizations, like libraries, to find the homeless people to make use of the trailers. Those organizations would retain ownership of the vehicle in case its user finds housing.

For future builds, Knezevich hopes to use more recycled materials.

"Rose-Hulman has been a godsend on this," Knezevich said. "Because in working with the homeless, this has the potential for saving lives. It really does."

David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.