Sometimes all we need is an example to look to, to realize something is possible. For many valid reasons, businesses are weary of opening their restrooms to the public, some of which are touched upon in last week’s article.
It is the belief of the Open Stalls project that these concerns are part of a larger discussion regarding the housing crisis, the lack of affordable mental health resources, the criminalization of drug use and sex work, and so many other social issues our society faces today. Because our community is not provided for in the ways it should be, other areas of our lives are affected in ways we might not have even imagined, public restrooms being one of them.
When we close bathrooms for fear of “criminal activity,” we ultimately close them off for everyone. As Teddy Siegal, creator of Got2GoNYC said, “When we punish the homeless, we punish everyone.”
Yet all of this can be said over and over, and it still does not erase the fact that taking action can be easier said than done.
Last year, the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation launched a mobile app called We Can’t Wait that works with businesses and the public to locate and share restrooms available to the public. The app partnered with businesses like Home Depot, Texas Roadhouse, and Just Salad to add more than 3,000 restrooms to the map. Restroom locations of businesses that partnered with the foundation are marked by orange stars while crowdsourced locations are yellow.
President and CEO of the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, Michael Osso mentioned a possible benefit of having an open restroom in an article by Fast Company saying, “You have an orange star and people are increasingly coming into your business. I suspect you have an increased opportunity to make a sale.”
Looking outside of our Seattle community and traveling to the infamously toilet-less concrete jungle of New York City, we can see an example of a smaller business doing much more than providing a public restroom, no questions asked.
Bluestockings Cooperative, located in the Lower East Side, has been a “collectively-run activist center, community space and feminist bookstore” for more than 21 years. Along with selling books, they offer mutual aid, harm reduction support, non-judgemental resource research, and a safe space that is inclusive of all identities. In addition to these services, Bluestockings also runs a free store stocked with food, hygiene products, clothing and more.
In October, Bluestockings Cooperative was written about in a New York Post article titled, “Woke NYC bookstore lures hordes of strung-out junkies with freebies: ‘Zombie apocalypse.’” The article shamed the bookstore for “attracting” unhoused people to “loiter” on the streets outside their shop.
In response, Siegal posted a video sharing her thoughts on the matter.
With mixed feelings in the comments of the post, Bluestockings shared their side of the story. Responding to a comment about drug use in their restrooms, the bookstore said, “Speaking as someone who regularly cleans the bathroom in this article where homeless people and people who use drugs are welcome…it’s really fine. I genuinely would clean our bathroom after a long busy day over any local bar’s.”
Providing restrooms to the public is possible and perhaps the concerns we have over opening them might not happen as often as we think. Most people who enter your establishment probably do so with the intention of purchasing something, not to destroy your restroom. Even if you did advertise your restroom as open to the public, would folks who are looking to use drugs specifically enter your business to do so? Probably not.
All this isn’t to say your concerns are not valid, because they most certainly are. If your restroom is open to the public, having your staff trained in harm reduction and de-escalation as well as general first aid is important and can be lifesaving in situations beyond possible drug use in your restrooms.
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