By Mary Rees, KALW Crosscurrents
There are roughly 6,400 homeless people in San Francisco. According to Laura Guzman, Director of the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, one of the biggest challenges they face is finding public restrooms.
“I remember when we opened, the conversation was all about poop on the street,” said Guzman. “We used to talk about ‘poop and needles,’ we call it. But it’s critical that the community understands – if there is no bathroom access, people are going to poop on the streets.”
Nowadays, the conversation is not about just keeping the sidewalks clean, but how to provide more showers for those without homes. Now one of the cleanest forms of transportation is about to hit the streets.
At the morning shower period at the Mission Neighborhood Resource Center, a drop-in facility for San Francisco’s homeless, the bright yellow and light green painted walls make for a cheery atmosphere. A chess game is underway at one table, and along another wall, a few people move things around in lockers.
Read the complete story at KALW Crosscurrents.
