The Buddy Box
The Buddy Box is a care package designed to assist people experiencing homelessness in looking after their pets.
The Task
The task for this project was to choose a social issue that meant something to you, and create a product that would help address that same issue. In discussion with my team, we chose to focus on the social issue of homelessness, but look at it from a different angle, focusing on homeless people with pets. For me, caring for animals has always been a huge part of my life and I always try to do what I can to help. So for this project, I did some research into homeless people with pets and found that most, if not all, always prioritize their pets needs over their own. With this information in mind, my team and I got to work.
The Challenge
One of our biggest challenges was helping the homeless care for their pets without encouraging those who cannot afford or cannot take on the responsibility of a pet to get one because of the support The Buddy Box provides. To solve this issue we decided to only include the necessities for caring for a pet in the box, and only give coupons for some amount off of grooming and food but not everything for free. This still gives the owner some responsibility in providing for their animal.
Putting something like The Buddy Box together could be very expensive, however, similar to food donations for a food bank, we can collect new or gently used pet items to fill these boxes. People who've had dogs which have grown out of their collars, or old toys that they do not use they could donate to a Buddy Box. For myself, my dog passed away, so many of the materials came from my house but they have not been used in years because we have no use for them. However, they are too good to throw out and we can't sell it. My family could put a box together on our own with our old pet items and many other families could do the same.
Empathize
While conducting secondary research, we found a surprising number of homeless people have pets. Through news articles and interviews we found that many homeless people said that their pets give their life a purpose. It provides them with a sense of responsibility and a reason to get up everyday. Many also mentioned how their pets were their best friends, companions and a listening ear to talk to. I could really empathize with these people and their feelings towards their pets. I have owned a variety of pets my entire life and they truly are your companions.
From our research we found that many people of higher status shame homeless people for having pets when "they can not even take care of themselves". However, you not only need to fulfill physical needs for survival but also psychological needs, and having these companions gives purpose to the individual's lives.
Define
As a group we needed to figure out how we could help support homeless individuals with pets to ensure the proper care and compassion was given and received from each candidate. Our Mission was to create a toolbox with all the necessities for caring for a pet so that homeless people can take care of their pets and themselves.
Ideate
After having this inspiration for our creation, we started by deciding what type of items to include in this box, identifying what the necessities were for a pet. Then, we brainstormed the type of container that would be best to store the items in. We chose hardshell bag with a long strap and then began building our prototype.
Prototype
Moving forward we began to create The Buddy Box out of a cardboard box and duct tape. Included inside the Buddy Box was:
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Blanket
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Towel
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Brush
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Scissors
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ID tags
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Resource list (Veterinarian clinics, pet friendly homeless shelter, grooming places, kennels)
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Water dish (water bottle)
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Food coupons
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Nail clippers
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Reflective collar and leash
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Vet wrap
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Waste bags
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Toys
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Grooming coupons
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There is also an adjustable strap for easy carrying, you can make it fit to your body. We chose a long cross body strap so that the owner can have their hands free for holding a leash or other bags. We decided not to go with a backpack because many homeless people are already carrying bags on their backs. The blanket attaches to the outside of the box so it can double as a bed for a small animal.