The Concept
A truck carries ready-to-deploy hammocks through the city each evening. Trained church volunteers set them up for those whose need has been quietly assessed — not first-come-first-served, but need-based. In the morning the same truck retrieves every hammock. In a few permitted pocket parks, a small number of stationary units may remain under volunteer oversight.
Hammock Mock-Up
Simple, quick-deploy, packable, and stable enough for urban use. Portable stands allow setup where trees are absent.
Portable A-frame or tree-strap version · packs into a single duffel · deploys in under three minutes · night scene
Bill of Materials (per hammock unit)
Occam’s version: the fewest parts that still deliver safety, speed, and durability. Estimated street prices (USD, mid-2026).
| Item | Spec | Qty | Est. Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hammock body | Heavy nylon or canvas, 2.1 × 1.4 m, double-stitched | 1 | $28–38 |
| Tree straps / webbing | 1.5" polyester, 3 m each, no-stretch | 2 | $12 |
| Portable stand (optional) | Powder-coated steel A-frame, folds flat | 1 | $45–65 |
| Carabiners / hardware | Rated 20 kN, locking | 4 | $16 |
| Rain fly / tarp | Silnylon 2 × 3 m with ridgeline | 1 | $18–25 |
| Stuff sack + ID tag | Color-coded, waterproof label | 1 | $6 |
| Ground stake set | Aluminum, for windy sites | 4 | $8 |
| Unit total (tree-strap version) | ≈ $70–90 | ||
| Unit total (with portable stand) | ≈ $115–145 | ||
Fleet support (shared): one cargo van or small box truck, volunteer radios, basic first-aid kit, laminated need-assessment cards. No permanent structures required.
Purchase & Send to Your Local Parish
You can buy a ready hammock online and have it shipped directly to your parish or to a volunteer coordinator. Here are simple starting points:
Look for double-stitched nylon or canvas, rated hardware, and include tree straps. Mark the package “Hammocks 4 The Homeless – for parish use” so it reaches the right hands.
Occam’s Razor · Nash Equilibrium
The simplest arrangement that leaves no party with a unilateral incentive to defect.
Homeless person
Gains a dry, elevated night without surrendering autonomy to a large shelter. Knows the unit will be gone at dawn — no false promise of permanence, no incentive to “claim” territory.
Local government
Sees fewer people sleeping on sidewalks and in doorways. Avoids the political cost of clearing camps while still reducing 911 calls and complaints. No new zoning fights.
State & national officials
Receives a low-cost, voluntary pilot that does not expand permanent housing entitlements or create new federal programs. Easy to ignore or quietly encourage.
Church / religious leaders
Exercises the corporal works of mercy without becoming a housing authority. Volunteers stay under pastoral guidance; the work remains clearly missionary, not political.
Good Samaritans
Can give time or money and see the direct result the same week. No bureaucratic lag. Clear moral narrative: “I helped someone sleep off the ground tonight.”
Society at large
Pays almost nothing extra in taxes. Gains quieter streets and a visible act of ordered charity. The daily retrieval prevents the tragedy-of-the-commons of permanent street camps.
The equilibrium itself
Every actor’s best response, given what the others are doing, is to continue participating or at least not obstruct:
- The person in need accepts the hammock because it is better than the ground and carries no long-term strings.
- The city tolerates the nightly operation because the units vanish by morning and complaints fall.
- Higher government leaves it alone because it costs them nothing and creates no new legal entitlements.
- The Church continues because the work is concrete, temporary, and recognizably Christian.
- Donors and volunteers keep giving because results are immediate and measurable.
- The wider public does not revolt because the solution is reversible and does not industrialize homelessness.
Any more complex system (permanent tiny-homes, open-ended encampments, heavy regulation) creates at least one party with a strong incentive to defect. This design does not.
How It Works — Nightly Cycle
- Afternoon — Small volunteer team reviews known individuals whose need is greatest (weather, health, safety). Capacity is fixed by the number of units on the truck.
- Evening — Truck arrives at pre-chosen quiet spots or permitted park edges. Hammocks go up in minutes. A brief word, a prayer if welcome, then the team moves on.
- Night — The person sleeps elevated, dry, and off the pavement.
- Morning — Same truck returns. Units are packed, counted, and cleaned. Nothing is left behind.
- Proceeds — Every donation, every spare unit sold to supporters, every grant stays inside the project so the next city with higher need can be reached.
Our Patrons
This work is placed under the special protection of Heaven.
Main Patroness — Our Lady of Guadalupe
“Am I not here, I who am your Mother?” — words spoken to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac. She is invoked as Mother of the Americas and Protectress of the vulnerable. Her mantle of teal and stars covers this pilot.
Saint Benedict Joseph Labre
Patron of the Homeless & Beggars
Born in 1748 in northern France, Benedict Joseph tried several religious orders but was refused because of fragile health. He then chose the path of a perpetual pilgrim and beggar. For years he walked the roads of Europe, sleeping outdoors, in ruins, or in the open spaces of Rome — often in the Colosseum itself. He owned almost nothing, prayed constantly, and shared what little alms he received with others poorer than himself.
He died in Rome on 16 April 1783 at the age of thirty-five. The people of the city immediately proclaimed him a saint. He was canonized in 1881. His life shows that holiness can flourish even without a roof, and that the poorest can still be channels of mercy to one another.
Feast day: 16 April
Washington, D.C. Pilot — Startup Cost
Three Occam’s-razor options. Each can run in a Nash equilibrium because cash outlay stays low, labor is mostly volunteer, and nothing permanent is built. Choose the lightest that still covers the need.
Option A — Pure Volunteer (simplest)
Cash needed: ≈ $900 – $1,100
- 10 tree-strap hammock units (complete) — $800
- Stuff sacks, ID tags, cleaning kit — $80
- First-aid & basic supplies — $50
- Volunteer-provided cargo van or pickup + fuel — $0
- Volunteer drivers, setters, and need assessors — $0
- Any local permission coordination — volunteer
Runs on donated vehicle and pure goodwill. Lowest barrier; easiest for every stakeholder to accept.
Option B — Modest Mobile Pilot
Cash needed: ≈ $3,000 – $3,400
- 20 hammock units (15 tree-strap + 5 with portable stands) — $2,200
- Evening cargo-van rental (first month) or modest fuel stipend — $800
- Supplies, radios, first-aid, laminated cards — $200
- Volunteer labor for setup, retrieval, and assessment — $0
- Insurance rider or parish coverage (if required) — $0–200
Still temporary and reversible. Enough capacity to demonstrate the model without inviting bureaucracy.
Option C — Mobile + Limited Stationary
Cash needed: ≈ $4,200 – $4,800
- Everything in Option B — $3,200
- 8 additional portable stands for 2–3 permitted pocket parks — $500
- Extra weather flies and ground stakes — $200
- One-time materials for simple volunteer storage lockers (if parks allow) — $300
- Volunteer liaison with parks department — $0
Adds a few overnight-stationary units only where written permission is already granted. Still fully retrieved or locked under volunteer eyes. No permanent structures.
Works of Mercy Addressed
This project is a concrete expression of the Church’s traditional works of mercy. The nightly offering of a dry, elevated place to rest primarily fulfills the following:
Corporal Works of Mercy
- Shelter the homeless — the central act: providing a temporary, elevated, weather-protected place to sleep off the ground and pavement.
- Comfort the afflicted (overlapping with spiritual) — offering rest, dignity, and a moment of ordered care to those suffering exposure and exhaustion.
Spiritual Works of Mercy
- Comfort the afflicted — the quiet presence of volunteers and the simple gift of a safe night’s rest speak consolation without words.
- Pray for the living and the dead — each deployment is offered under the mantle of Our Lady and the patronage of St. Benedict Joseph Labre; volunteers are encouraged to pray for those they serve and for the souls of the faithful departed, and to ask for the prayers of the poor for Holy Mother Church and the world.
- Instruct the ignorant / Counsel the doubtful (when opportunity and prudence allow) — a brief word, a shared prayer, or a gentle invitation toward further help can plant a seed of hope and truth.
Join the Work
This is not a government program. It is a contingent of ordinary Catholics and other people of good will who refuse to leave a neighbor on the concrete.
If you can sew a seam, drive a van, assess need with charity and prudence, or simply write a check that stays inside the mission — there is a place for you.
Coming soon as of 7.27.26!
All proceeds keep the hammocks moving and scale the work to the cities where the need is heaviest.