Could You Hold It For 8 Hours? Advocates Ask For Public Toilets

WALTHAM, MA — What do you do in town if you are away from home and the need to use the bathroom hits you amid a pandemic when public spaces are closed? For some, it's a quick drive home. For those who have the money to spend, maybe they pop into a restaurant and pay for something so they can use the facility. But what if you don't have money to spend and you don't have a regular place to call home?

There were two portable toilets outside the Waltham Community Day Center, but those were only cleaned once a week, before, according to the city, the Day Center eventually asked they be removed because they were being abused. How long can you hold it?

It's a real problem, according to those who work closely with the dozens of people experiencing homelessness in Waltham. Although the Bristol Lodge's men's and women's shelters provide a clean toilet for guests after 4 p.m., until morning, for more than eight hours there are few options in Waltham if you have to go. Then there are the people in Waltham who don't stay in the night shelters.

Waltham Community Leadership Group, a collection of Waltham community members who have experience with homelessness, along with a coalition of advocates for people experiencing homelessness, such as Chaplains on the Way, sent a letter to Mayor Jeannette McCarthy on Friday imploring her to help them address the problem. Justi Godoy of Chaplains on the Way told Patch the two groups have been meeting together for weeks and took the past month drafting the letter.

The group acknowledged that the mayor acted promptly in the spring, helping set up two portable toilets outside the Community Day Center, a day shelter. But since then, it's become apparent that more needs to be done, they say.

"To address the lack of bathrooms, we would like the city to make four portable toilets available immediately, and for these toilets to be cleaned several times a day," reads the letter, signed by more than 100 community members, church leaders and advocates.

The ask, which coincided with a request to talk about creating public indoor space as the weather gets colder for people experiencing homelessness, comes as Waltham's coronavirus risk level rose to a "moderate" level Wednesday. That increase in cases prompted the city to issue an alert, requesting people to wear masks and practice hand-washing and follow recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC also recommends that groups, such as the coalition, work with municipal government to find solutions when it comes to the health of unsheltered people. In Waltham, 20 men are staying in the Bristol Lodge Men's Shelter, and 10 women are at the lodge's shelter for women. Another 20 to 30 adults are sleeping outside somewhere in Waltham.

The coalition pointed to nearby Cambridge, which cleans public portable toilets regularly, making them both attractive to use and safer.

"Our health and well-being are interdependent," wrote the group, which also asked the mayor to work with them on finding public places for Waltham's unhoused population to spend during the day as the weather gets colder.

The Community Day Center, public library and Salvation Army were all forced to close amid pandemic, leaving no public indoor space. Although the Day Center is working to find a way to open indoor space, it has limited capacity. So the coalition is asking the mayor for a meeting before Oct. 9 in the hopes they can find a solution by Nov. 1.

"We believe that these actions, if taken, are not enabling, but simply the government providing necessary services to vulnerable citizens," the letter reads. "In fact, public restrooms benefit everyone out and about in Waltham. If unhoused residents of Waltham are not safe and able to take proper precautions against coronavirus this fall and winter, then everyone in Waltham will be negatively impacted."

The mayor and several city councilors whom Patch reached out to for comment did not immediately return a request for comment.

However, just before 3 p.m. the mayor responded to the letter from the group. She did not make plans to meet with them, but she did say that the Community Day Center just received some $409,000 to create extra space and a warming center.

"In the interim the City’s nurse/certified addiction counselor/social worker, City’s Drug task Force and housing division (financial assistance) are available to triage and service any homeless individual who requests and needs service," she said in her email to the group.

Previously on Patch:

• Tents On Waltham Common Put A Spotlight On Homeless

• What Do Homeless People In Waltham Do Amid Coronavirus Crisis?
• Tents To House Homeless Go Up On Waltham Common
• 200 Homeless Test Positive Coronavirus In Boston
• Waltham Day Center For Homeless Pivots..

Got a tip? Patch reporter Jenna Fisher can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a press release you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how to post a press release, a column, event or opinion piece.