The Empowerment Plan was established as a 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation in 2011, by Veronika Scott, who was a student at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.
Beginning as a school project, Scott initially designed the sleeping bag coat, called "Element S(urvival)" from the Tyvek home insulation and wool army blankets to help the homeless population of Detroit[2] in two ways: By providing making warm, durable coats suitable for the below freezing temperatures throughout the winter months and by helping to train and employ them.
[4] Veronika Scott, via TEDx Detroit To get to the production phase, the Empowerment Plan relied on the apparel company Carhartt.
[5] The Empowerment Plan also receives support from numerous Detroit-based companies, including The Women's Foundation, ACME Mills, along with insulation materials donated by GM.
According to Scott, during the creation of the project, she was told over and over that her idea would never succeed - not because the person running it had no business experience, but because the homeless women she hired would not be "capable."