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I'm about to tune into a Seattle City Council committee meeting on homelessness -- and specifically about our region's local hep A outbreak (yes, on top of the pandemic) and lack of hygiene and sanitation resources.
Covered lack of these resources some here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/lack-of-bathrooms-sanitation-leaves-unsheltered-homeless-less-protected-against-coronavirus/
Since then, the city has installed 14 portable toilets and 6 hand-washing stations, but that number lags behind other West Coast cities with large unsheltered homeless populations.
(For example, Berkeley, which has an unsheltered homeless pop of 813 compared to Seattle's 3,558, installed 30 hand-washing stations and 41 portable toilets at the beginning of March. Seattle started deploying these resources a the end of last month.)
The state declared a hep A outbreak in July of last year after discovering 13 cases in four different counties, but in the last three months, King County has counted more than 100 cases. In March, there were 25 cases, 11 of them in people reported to be experiencing homelessness.
Hep A is transmitted when fecal matter gets into the digestive tract. Public Health has been providing vaccines through outreach workers for years, but not everyone is willing to be vaccinated.
One of the biggest risks for contracting hep A is lack of access to running water and bathrooms.
First on the line is Colleen Echohawk, ED of Chief Seattle Club, who is saying that they have begun limiting their bathroom access because of social distancing. People are desperate, she said. A woman had tried pushing her way in because she was menstruating.
"What we are seeing unfold in our city is a truly shocking experience," says Alison Eisinger of @Homeless2Housed. They've been doing a survey of service changes and found that in nearly all cases the hours and/or services have been reduced to comply with CDC guidelines.
Eisinger is asking the city to do far more. For context, before the pandemic, only six publicly funded restrooms were available 24/7. Since libraries and cafes closed, there are even fewer places for people to go.
Jessica Kwon (REACH) says she felt this was an issue before the pandemic.
One business owner, Kwon said, has witnessed someone going to the bathroom behind his dumpsters. Kwon says that now, when people ask her where they can go use the bathroom or where can they go get shelter, "I don't have that."
Dawn Whitson, another REACH outreach worker, says she herself has had to use the alley when there's no one else to go in Georgetown. She emphasizes that while the CDC says people must wash their hands, her clients have no way of doing so.
*nowhere else to go
Brittany Meek, who manages programs at DESC including outreach, said that even the bathrooms that are open to the public often don't have proper supplies for hand-washing. South Seattle is of particular concern.
"I can't begin to explain how appalled I am that you were working with so little resources prior to COVID and now," @CMTMosqueda says.
Last December the city freed up $1.3 million to install 5 portable "pit stops." But those resources were not yet available at the beginning of March, when the local COVID-19 outbreak hit.
Echohawk is suggesting the "Mark Lloyd" approach, in addition to opening up indoor bathrooms in buildings. If you want to learn about Mark Lloyd and his portable toilets (all on his own dime), watch the video here: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/lack-of-bathrooms-sanitation-leaves-unsheltered-homeless-less-protected-against-coronavirus/
Advocates have also been advocating for officials to deploy the National Guard to staff some of these locations for homeless people because service providers don't have the staffing.
Now the council is moving to a presentation from Patty Hayes, director of Public Health - Seattle & King County. You can watch here: https://www.seattle.gov/council/watch-council-live
"The spread of hepatitis A and the novel coronavirus within the homeless community is a high priority," Hayes says.
Hayes gives new, updated numbers: There were 30 confirmed hep A cases in March, 14 of them were homeless in Ballard.
"Priorities should be placed on access to hand-washing, followed by toilets and access to shower facilities," Hayes says.
Whitson asks how we have been able to build a field hospital in CenturyLink Field but not install more port-a-potties. She said she's been stonewalled by local officials.
Eisinger said there's been "profound frustration" about these issues and "the lack of ability to move this process forward" with the city.
CM Herbold: "From what I can see, our failure to address the greatest needs of those with the least should indict us all for really putting our city at risk."
CM @Lisa_Herbold cites the numbers from LA, San Diego and Berkeley. LA has installed 370 handwashing stations and 170 portable toilets.
They're discussing the possibility of an interactive map. FWIW, @annaleapatrick fact-checked and published an interactive map of hygiene resources here last month: https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/homeless/lack-of-bathrooms-sanitation-leaves-unsheltered-homeless-less-protected-against-coronavirus/
Now we're moving to the city's response. We'll be hearing from Deputy Mayor Casey Sixkiller.
