The Makeshift Traveler
The Makeshift Traveler is a solar-powered backpack designed by The HomeMore Project for individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. It was created to provide practical daily support, including weather protection, storage, charging access, and essential supplies, while helping people stay mobile, connected, and safer while they work toward long-term stability. HomeMore’s website says the pack was developed over 18 months using firsthand feedback and observations from people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood.
HomeMore created the Makeshift Traveler after listening to people experiencing homelessness describe the everyday barriers they faced, including damaged or stolen belongings, limited access to power, and the difficulty of carrying essential items safely. The backpack was designed as a direct response to those needs, giving people a durable way to store belongings, charge devices, stay dry, and carry basic survival items. HomeMore’s work began through conversations and firsthand research with people living unhoused in the Tenderloin, and the Makeshift Traveler reflects that lived-experience-centered approach.
No. The Makeshift Traveler is not a replacement for housing. It is an immediate relief tool that helps meet urgent needs while HomeMore continues working toward longer-term housing solutions. HomeMore describes the Makeshift Traveler as “not the solution, but…a part of ours,” because it provides practical aid while helping the organization build genuine relationships with people who may be interested in HomeMore’s future housing programs.
The Makeshift Traveler Program began in California and has expanded across the state. The program launched on October 1, 2022, and The HomeMore Project has distributed backpacks across 25 California cities, from areas as far south as San Diego and San Bernardino to northern communities such as Redding and Yreka. HomeMore’s 2026 goal is to deliver 3,000 Makeshift Travelers across more than 30 California cities.
The Makeshift Traveler is designed to include a combination of storage, charging, safety, comfort, and basic survival items. Items in the Makeshift Traveler include: an FM/AM radio and headphones, rechargeable flashlight, 24-ounce water bottle, sleeping bag, USB-C charging port and brick, rain pocket coat, identification card, hygiene kit, security lock, Bombas socks, and foldable tent. The fully stocked product listing also includes a USB-C cord and brick, 150cm security lock, mini screwdriver for maintenance, tent, sleeping bag, radio, flashlight, poncho, water bottle, notebook, and lockbox. Exact contents may vary by version and distribution inventory.
The Makeshift Traveler includes a solar panel connected to an internal battery bank. The solar panel stores energy in the battery bank, and users can then charge devices through the bag’s USB charging port. Both the stocked and unstocked versions of the pack include a USB-C charging cable so the battery can be charged through a wall charger when there aren’t optimal conditions for solar charging.. HomeMore’s newer Makeshift Traveler 5.0 also includes an upgraded 10,000 mAh battery to support more reliable phone charging.
For people experiencing homelessness, a charged phone can be a lifeline. Phones help people stay connected to family, caseworkers, medical providers, job opportunities, housing resources, and emergency support. UCSF research on older adults experiencing homelessness found that more than 80% used phones or the internet to contact family, nearly two-thirds used them to communicate with medical providers, and about one-third used them to search for housing and employment.
Yes. HomeMore describes the Makeshift Traveler as a waterproof and weatherproof backpack. Its outer shell includes a urethane-coated nylon pillow designed to stay protected from the elements, providing both comfort and protection for people living outdoors.
Yes. The backpack includes security features designed to help protect belongings. HomeMore’s website describes a double-zipper system that adds protection and can be secured with a lock. The pack also includes a security lock, and the fully stocked version includes a lockbox.
Individuals experiencing homelessness can inquire through HomeMore’s website, which includes a direct “Experiencing Homelessness: Inquire about a Makeshift Traveler Here” option. Makeshift Travelers are also distributed through outreach events and local partner organizations. Most distribution is made possible through foundation grants, nonprofit partnerships, and government procurement; individuals or organizations who are not experiencing homelessness can also purchase a Makeshift Traveler directly through HomeMore’s store to support the mission.
HomeMore works with local partners because trusted community organizations often know the people, geography, and service gaps in their area better than an outside organization could on its own. In Yreka, HomeMore partnered with Six Stones and NVCSS to distribute 20 Makeshift Travelers to individuals experiencing unsheltered homelessness. HomeMore noted that these partners had long-standing trust with the people they serve and helped reach individuals who were disconnected from formal systems.
Housing Program
Yreka represents the kind of rural community where HomeMore believes housing solutions are urgently needed and where a smaller, locally connected housing model can make a meaningful impact. Rural regions are often overlooked and underserved, with unique barriers such as limited housing supply, fewer behavioral health resources, and geographic isolation from larger support systems.
The Yreka Housing Program is HomeMore’s first housing project and is being developed as a tiny-home permanent housing community within HomeMore’s broader long-term housing vision.
HomeMore’s housing model is designed to be smaller-scale, community-centered, and shaped by the voices of people with lived experience. The organization’s housing materials say each resident will have a defined personal living space where they can feel secure, independent, and respected. HomeMore also conducted a focus group in Yreka with people who had received Makeshift Travelers in Siskiyou County, gathering feedback on unit design, communal space needs, programming priorities, storage, charging access, privacy, personal safety, and on-site support.
Emergency shelter is usually designed to provide short-term crisis relief, such as a temporary place to sleep. The Yreka Housing Program is intended to go beyond short-term shelter by providing a more stable living environment, personal space, supportive services, and a pathway toward greater independence. HomeMore’s public materials say the organization views housing as a foundation for human flourishing, not simply a temporary intervention, and its broader transitional housing language emphasizes housing, nutrition options, mental and physical healthcare, educators, employers, and other resources.
The Yreka Housing Program is being designed around the needs of Yreka and Siskiyou County, with input from people who have experienced homelessness locally. HomeMore has already conducted a focus group with individuals in Siskiyou County who received Makeshift Travelers, and that feedback is helping shape the site plan, modular unit specifications, and service model. Final eligibility, referral pathways, residency requirements, and prioritization criteria will be shared as the program gets closer to opening.
You can support the Yreka Housing Program by donating to The HomeMore Project, contacting the team about partnership opportunities, or helping fund the broader work that connects immediate outreach to long-term housing. HomeMore’s donation page lists several ways to contribute, including online giving, Zelle, check, Venmo, and GoFundMe. HomeMore’s homepage also explains that support for the Makeshift Traveler provides immediate relief while helping build connections with people who share the organization’s long-term vision for its Transitional Housing Program.