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Distribution, Service & Usage

EDAR partners with a network of philanthropic, governmental and homeless advocacy organizations to assist in the distribution of EDAR units. This allows us to identify EDAR candidates as well as to provide EDAR users with additional resources, including social services. For individuals who are not affiliated with one of these organizations and would like an EDAR unit, EDAR will refer an individual to an existing distributing partner organization in their area so that they may receive a unit through them.

Currently EDAR units are being used in a variety of modalities determined by both the needs of the distributing agency and the homeless clients. In all cases, we ask the distributing agency to collect feedback from the EDAR user and in many instances, the EDAR unit becomes a "first step" for those that are often reluctant to enter a traditional shelter system. By collecting feedback and offering additional social services, our distributing partners create a relationship with the EDAR users, increasing the chance of them transitioning into a more structured program offering transitional and eventually permanent housing options.

Here are a few examples of the current ways EDAR units are being used:

Mobile with an Agency Partnership
EDAR users receive their units through a partnership agency and the EDAR units are used in an urban or rural setting. Users push their EDAR units around during the day and at night sleep in the EDAR. In the EDAR, they are elevated off the ground and protected from the elements. In some cases, our partners allow EDAR users to enter the agency grounds at night and sleep in a designated area such as a courtyard, parking lot or chapel. This provides the agency extra sleeping capacity and gives the homeless person a safer place to spend the night.
Indoors as "The New Cot"
The EDAR units are being used as additional beds in shelters that are beyond maximum bed capacity and lack portable cots for homeless clients to sleep on each night. In these instances, the units are used indoors as alternatives to traditional cots. In this situation, EDAR units provide much more privacy than a cot. Oftentimes, a mother and child will use an EDAR together, providing a "camping" atmosphere for a child who has been displaced from their home.
EDAR Communities
EDAR communities are made up of 10-15 EDAR units, creating a dormitory effect on land provided by a local authority or private entity. Restroom and shower facilities are integrated into the community and EDAR works with local homeless agencies to provide additional social services to the residents of the community.