Dallas is providing port-a-potties for unsheltered people. They're not being cleaned as often as the city said they would be.
Willie Seals stands near port-a-potties that he and others use in downtown Dallas outside of J. Erik Jonsson Central Library on Tuesday, July 12, 2022. Port-a-potties are set up at homeless encampments around Dallas and next to J. Erik Jonsson Central Library.A blue port-a-potty without soap, toilet paper or hand sanitizer stands in the sun near a South Dallas homeless camp with its door propped open. Next to it, a portable sink awaits use — its soap dispenser empty.
Flavio Gonzales, who often visits his friend Gloria who lives in a tent on Chestnut Street, said they noticed a port-a-potty placed near them a couple months ago. But he said they rarely use it — it’s dirty most of the time.Thomas Earl Castle, who lives in a tent nearby, said he and others try to service it with whatever cleaning supplies they can round up, though it’s difficult for anybody to keep it in perfect condition all the time.
Not all of the port-a-potties are receiving the same amount of attention — the ones by the library are getting priority. United Rental owns and services the ones by the library and United Site Services owns the others. Originally United Rental was going to provide toilets for all the sites but declined to put them at camps because ofThis delayed the program and increased costs, forcing the city to hire United Site Services and to remove one of the sites that was originally part of the plan. The library got its port-a-potties in early March but the camps waited until the end of May, two months later than expected.
The lack of bathrooms has led to a large number of reports of public indecency near the camps, said Crossley, something the city hopes to reduce with the program. This will also help people avoid getting cited for relieving themselves in public, increasing the likelihood they will get into housing, eventually.
Mendelsohn and council member Paula Blackmon also expressed concerns about whether the port-a-potties encourage people to stay in the camps and not seek shelter.
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