Nowhere to pee, nowhere to shower

Recently when I was shopping at Whole Foods, which advertises itself as a kind of hippie organic foods emporium, I approached the “public” restroom and found it had an elaborate combination lock system on the door and a sign saying: “Only customers with valid sales receipts will be given the combination to this door.”

I went immediately to the service desk to complain, and the shy young woman on duty apologized and told me she would give me the code. I told her that’s not the point. “Would you give me the code if I appeared to be unhoused?” She was embarrassed and apologized, said it was a new store policy. I knew it wasn’t her fault personally, but I asked her to report my complaint to the management and tell them I will be taking my business elsewhere until they change this policy. 

Today Sisters of the Road, a local non-profit that serves unhoused people, sponsored a forum called “The Community Hygiene Project,” and I was glad to see that about 75 people showed up on a Saturday afternoon to discuss the difficulty. Currently, with an unhoused population of over 6000, we have two facilities that allow 70 people a day to have a warm shower. Many unhoused people suffer from medical problems such as urinary and bowel disorders, skin eruptions, sores, MRSA, and insect bites related to lack of access to toilets, running water, and baths or showers. The city of Portland says hygiene centers are “not a budget priority.” Today’s forum was an opportunity to brainstorm about ways to address the needs. 

Ronni Gilboa was one of the speakers on the panel. She runs two innovative “Urban Rest Centers” in Seattle. “The Urban Rest Stop provides a clean, safe and welcoming facility where individuals and families experiencing homelessness can come and use restrooms, laundry facilities and shower. All services are provided at no cost to patrons.” She has been able to raise funds for the rest centers through aggressive fund-raising. I’m hoping we can do the same in Portland.