Europe’s first mobile laundry unit for people experiencing homelessness

Ithaca Laundry provides free laundry and hygiene services to individuals living on the streets or in precarious housing conditions, primarily around Athens and the wider Attica area. Since 2016, the organization has operated a van equipped with washing machines and dryers, a mobile laundry unit that travels to various locations to collect, wash, dry and return clothes to beneficiaries who otherwise lack access to basic sanitation facilities.

Beyond the immediate benefit of clean clothing, Ithaca frames hygiene as a foundation for dignity, a steppingstone toward restoring self-esteem, social inclusion and improved life chances.

To complement its hygiene services, the organization also implements social-reintegration programmes: individuals who have experienced homelessness may be offered part-time roles within Ithaca, operating the mobile laundry or contributing to administrative and support tasks, as a transitional employment pathway.

Since 2021, Ithaca has further expanded to include social services and employment counselling, offering beneficiaries support with CV writing, job-search assistance and psychosocial support, thus aiming for durable reintegration into the labour market and society.

Additionally, Ithaca Laundry engages in awareness-raising and advocacy, working to shift public perception and influence policies related to homelessness, poverty, and social exclusion. Its interventions sometimes extend to emergency response, distributing hygiene items or clothing during cold weather or crises.

Through this multi-pillar approach, hygiene services, reintegration support, and advocacy, Ithaca Laundry aims not only to meet basic needs, but to offer pathways for vulnerable individuals to emerge from social exclusion with dignity and opportunity.