Oregon’s city of Eugene is known for its arts, culture, and outdoor activities, such as organic farming, hiking, and bicycle trails. However, homelessness has increased at an alarming rate in recent years, and now those pleasant bicycle trails most likely have tents along the path with homeless people living there. The latest count of the homeless population in Eugene, Oregon was over 2,100 people, among them were those living on streets, in emergency shelters, and short-term housing.
The homeless in Eugene, and all around the world, are having a challenging time now with the COVID-19 pandemic. Thankfully, non-profit Carry It Forward and Arcimoto have come together to help the homeless in Eugene and Springfield, Oregon survive this crisis.
Arcimoto, based in Eugene, is an electric vehicle company that manufactures and sells three-wheeled electric vehicles. In 2019, the company launched its first vehicle called the Fun Utility Vehicle (FUV), then came the Rapid Responder, and most recently, the Deliverator.
The Deliverator is designed for delivering local needs while eliminating gas and having a guilt-free zero-carbon drive. It can reach a top speed of 75mph (120 km/h) and can go 100 miles (160km) per charge. Now, Arcimoto has given Carry It Forward the Deliverator to transport critical emergency supplies to homeless communities in Eugene and Springfield.
Arcimoto’s founder and CEO, Mark Frohnmayer, said:
We completed our first pilot Deliverator vehicle just as the Coronavirus crisis exploded. Right before our planned launch, Carry It Forward reached out to Arcimoto to see if we could help in any way to expand their delivery capacity for emergency supplies to the unhoused. I can’t think of a more important mission, nor a better way to begin testing the Deliverator in the field, than helping Carry It Forward to serve the most vulnerable members of our community.
The vehicle may not have a door, but there’s a roof, a windshield, and it offers more than 15 cubic feet of cargo storage space. Not having a door comes in handy when the driver wants to make quick deliveries. Arcimoto expects to go into production with the Deliverator by late 2020.
Arwen Maas-Despian, of Carry It Forward, said:
We are incredibly grateful to use the first Deliverator pilot vehicle for this mission that we so believe in, as we all join together in the Eugene community to flatten the curve for our most vulnerable neighbors, and to do so without burning an ounce of carbon.
In the video below, you can see how dedicated Carry It Forward is to help the people of Oregon and how they have changed the lives of many.
