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EPR Archived News |
IADDIC Shelters Help Solve Global Housing Crises
Released on: December 28, 2010, 4:02 am IADDIC produces the first rigid, permanent shelters for mass distribution to help with disaster relief and humanitarian social housing
You are weather-beaten, tired and frayed. Due to situations beyond your control you have lost everything. Maybe there was a fire, flood, hurricane, or you simply lost your job. The roof and walls of your home have now been replaced by either a shredded tarp, the boards of a shack, a tent ripped apart by the wind, or maybe you have no protection at all. In any case, there is no relief from the noise and clutter of the streets – no protection from the elements or from the people who call themselves your neighbors. Having a protective shelter is a basic human need denied to 1 out of 5 people in the global population. 1.8 billion people in the world do not have adequate, livable shelters - 500 million of those are homeless. Even in America, the richest nation in the world, there are 670,000 people homeless on any given night. “Every place on earth has a housing problem from Haiti, Mexico, Ecuador, Pakistan, India, and Africa to America where you see homeless veterans in Ohio,” says Richard Grabowski, CEO of IADDIC Shelters. “There are billions of people around the world living in abject poverty. We as a society, as a global community, have yet to find the way to adequately shelter this overwhelming volume.” Grabowski and his company IADDIC Shelters have discovered the “need to shelter” and have dedicated themselves to producing an innovative solution to this global housing crisis. IADDIC has spent the last 5 years perfecting the first rigid, permanent shelters for mass production. With the final model completed and the resources developed for mass circulation, these shelters are ready to start rebuilding permanent communities that will revitalize areas devastated by disasters and poverty. “There are two specific needs filled by IADDIC Shelters that did not previously exist in the marketplace: shelters for disaster relief and humanitarian social housing,” says Grabowski, “There was a need to shelter that was not being met and I think we now bring to the table a long-lasting affordable shelter that can be built in overwhelming numbers in a couple of hours.” The “Need to Shelter” In October 2005, a 7.6 MW (magnitude) earthquake struck Kashmir on the Pakistan-India border, killing 82,000 people and leaving 3.3 million injured or homeless. The call came to IADDIC from the Prime Minister requesting 2 million shelters. At that time, however, IADDIC only had a shelter prototype and the beginnings of a website. They were still years away from perfecting the right shelter. “The magnitude was larger than any organization could conceive – the number kept sky-rocketing,” says Grabowski. “The problem was so huge that the overwhelming proposition had to be solved.” In the next four and half years the still developing IADDIC company received inquiries for 4.5 million shelters. There was a “need to shelter” but the technology was not yet available to meet the demand and the market was not supplying any ready solutions. “We were still developing our technology and yet the calls kept coming in,” says Grabowski. “Only a few organizations were even finding us – how many more needed help? This told me that there was nothing real in the market to help with or provide shelters at this scale.” Grabowski started with a one foot square model in 2005 that progressed to full sized models in 2006. He first designed a semi-rigid model, but the technology to manufacture in overwhelming volume was not yet available and capitalization of new technology was very high. Undaunted, in 2008 a first full-sized model was developed - however, progress came to a halt after the global recession affected IADDIC’s ability to raise funds, but in 2009 and 2010 two breakthroughs developed. The first was an advanced rigid shelter capable of withstanding the rigors of use and time, as well as two methods of manufacturing the shelter in the country or area they are needed. “The world population has shifted from rural to urban and current technologies are limited in their ability to handle the lack of shelters,” says Grabowski. “Now with the right resources we can fill orders for 500,000 to a million shelters and beyond. As a matter of fact, our goal is to shelter 500 million people.” But Grabowski isn’t looking for a quick fix. The goal of IADDIC Shelters is for“Economic Renewal” which means building stable, permanent housing solutions for areas decimated by disaster and poverty. “The previous idea of ‘shelters’ in the world of humanitarian aid consisted of a tent or tarp, but that doesn’t solve the greater issue,” says Grabowski. “The long term survival of these communities is dependant on long term housing solutions. Our purpose is to create permanent housing solutions in the country or area of need in order to play a part in the economic renewal of the re-established community and revitalize jobs. ” Since IADDIC’s inception, 120 out of the 190 nations in the world have contacted Grabowski for shelter relief. With the technology and resources now at hand, Grabowski plans on traveling to both Haiti and Mexico to continue making his dream of sheltering the world a reality. For more information about IADDIC Shelters visit Shelter the World.com or contact Alan McNiel of DriPowder, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB), and a teaming partner of IADDIC. Contact Details: Alan McNiel, Founder
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