In 2010, Professor Stephen Schock of Detroit’s College for Creative Studies began offering “design activism” classes that encourage students to focus their talents on addressing the city’s economic problems. While a junior in Schock’s class, Detroit native Veronika Scott worked with homeless men to design a stylish coat that transforms into a sleeping bag. Now graduated, 22-year-old Scott recently launched her own nonprofit, The Empowerment Plan, to train and pay recently homeless women to produce the coats for homeless people on Detroit’s streets. The organization has already produced 275 coats, according to The New York Times.
To make revenue, Scott soon plans to sell the coats online. Those who buy the coats will automatically get a second one to send to a shelter or charity anywhere in the world.
