Solaires Team | Victoria, B.C. | May 2020
Solaires, a Victoria-based solar tech company, is donating solar cell phone chargers to the Poverty Kills organization, to distribute them among homeless people affected by COVID-19 who are in encampments, so they can use their phones as there are no AC outlets in outdoor shelters.
On May 12th, 2020, the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction of British Columbia announced that they would donate 3,500 smartphones to homeless and vulnerable populations across the province to ensure safe access to communications technology amid the current pandemic. On the same day, 1,000 phones were distributed by the Social Planning and Research Council of BC throughout several communities.
However, a considerable number of homeless people still remain at camps with no indoor shelter options, waiting for a suitable housing option. As Dr. Sahar Sam, Solaires CSO explained, “now that they have cell phones, we need to make sure they can charge their phones to use it especially during an emergency”. Solar chargers are needed since there is no easy way to charge cell phones at the camps. These chargers will enable people to charge their phones using the energy coming from the sun. The company found an opportunity to help during the present crisis and decided to contribute through the Poverty Kills organization’s network.
About Poverty Kills
It is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to helping people from the street community in shelters, especially in homeless camps in British Columbia, displaced by different circumstances under COVID-19. They share a common solidarity orientation and have created an infrastructure to match volunteers with needed tasks. They work to reduce harm through coordinating efforts.
About Solaires Entreprises Inc.
Solaires Entreprises Inc. is a cleantech company located in Victoria BC. Collaborating with the University of Victoria, Solaires is developing a new generation of solar panels. They have developed a patent-pending solution for solar energy harvesting that will help office building tenants meet energy efficiency requirements by producing clean energy and controlling heat gain and loss.