Without housing, where do homeless people bathe? It is sad and inconvenient but as with defecation, homeless people do not have a regular and reliable place for bathing. Where or how they bathe is dependent on the resources available in their area, as they seek to take advantage of any opportunity — some of which may be poor or illegal choices.
One option unhoused individuals commonly use for bathing, when it’s available, is public facilities’ bathing amenities. Some examples are parks, gyms, hospitals, city restaurants and gas stations. These options may not necessarily be ideal as you will see below.
Shea Anderson, 44, in Portland, Oregon, says, “Hospital restrooms were a favorite of mine. At the time, it was really easy to walk into a hospital and act with authority, like I was visiting a patient or had an appointment. Also, hospitals are open 24 hours and have single-stall restrooms with locking doors. I’d take my shirt off, use paper towels and the soap from the dispenser, wipe under my armpits, wipe down around my crotch, douse my head in the sink. I still think about restrooms a lot: where they’re located; if I have access to them; if they have toilet paper; if they’re private.”
That said, Shea felt really disappointed through one of his bathing adventures as he recounts, “I bathed in Keller Fountain before I’d go to church. I realized as I was sitting in church that people could smell that fountain water on me, that rank chlorinated odor like fishy garbage. I was never more embarrassed in my entire life, because we had to do the hug of peace. I definitely did not want people to think that I was homeless. It was important for me to maintain the appearance that I was not living on the street.”
Further, a homeless man, Kyle Morgan, 30, was jailed for sneaking into a hotel swimming pool to wash himself. Similarly, although earlier, it was reported that a homeless woman, Cheryl Beauchamp, 35, has been charged for defecating in a man’s backyard and swimming naked in his pool, which was evidenced in a surveillance video. She gained access to the pool by cutting its screen with a rock.
Read: I don’t want to be homeless
Another option which is more stable is bathing facilities in homeless shelters. Some NGOs and some governments, especially, provide shelters for people without housing. These little tent communities come with various services including medical care, food and sanitary options.
Although relatively stable, shelters are not liked by some rough sleepers, as reports show. Issues mentioned for the distaste include rowdiness, violence and theft in the shelters.
David Pirtle on NPR Studio has this to say the matter, “Part of the reason was, you know, the paranoia and the fear of large groups of people that comes along with schizophrenia, but part of the reason was, and I think this is more generally the case with people, is that you hear a lot of terrible things about shelters, that shelters are dangerous places, that they’re full of drugs and drug dealers, that people will steal your shoes, and there’s bedbugs and body lice.”
Yet, another homeless bathing option is with some government, nongovernment organizations and community groups who sometimes organize events or programs that provide hygiene services to hobos. These include access to showers.
ShowerUp in 2020, for example, launched its outreach by which it provides units to shower for people without accommodation, in Wichita. Charles, a homeless man, used their service and then says, “I was at a low point. I was dirty. I didn’t really want to do anything, like go to the library… Man, I came out of that shower, and I was like 100% happier, and [then] I went straight to the library.”
But of course, no comment is being made on the frequency of the availability of temporary showers. While this assistance is commendable and while we might provide the same for unhoused people, the best remedy for people experiencing homelessness remains permanent housing.
What happens when a person living in the streets doesn’t have any of the foregoing options? During Covid-19 in which everyone, including businesses, had to go on lockdown, Shannon Johnson who used to bathe in his gym’s shower facilities (with membership costing $25 monthly) had no place to freshen up. Consequently, he washed up (usually outside before dawn) using gallons of waters he bought at local convenience stores or receives at a food pantry. This situation is not peculiar to Shannon or to the Covid-19 period.
Read: Effects of Homelessness
Conclusively, homeless individuals usually face challenges in finding regular and reliable access to bathing facilities, as demonstrated above. Hygiene initiatives and permanent housing solutions should be considered for them.
Homeless people are usually victims of circumstances and need human assistance. Kindly help the homeless today.
