I assume that it’s harder to have public bathrooms when you have a substantial homeless population. There’s a fear that they’ll do drugs in there or desecrate the place.
I was briefly part of an organization that tried to solve this problem by having a portable station for homeless people to use the bathroom, take a shower, brush, and change (they were also given inexpensive undergarments + cleaning equipment). While doing that, I never experienced any of the above issues but there was also an establishment of trust because the homeless people and the volunteers would interact regularly. I wonder if this can extrapolate.
In places without a homeless problem, I’ve never had an issue finding a place to use the bathroom without buying anything. I usually buy something after as a courtesy, but I never promise the storeowner or anything.
ETA: in upscale areas in the East Coast, I often can find public bathrooms, and they’re in good shape. I don’t travel too much, so I don’t have a whole lot of data points.
I assume that it’s harder to have public bathrooms when you have a substantial homeless population. There’s a fear that they’ll do drugs in there or desecrate the place.
I was briefly part of an organization that tried to solve this problem by having a portable station for homeless people to use the bathroom, take a shower, brush, and change (they were also given inexpensive undergarments + cleaning equipment). While doing that, I never experienced any of the above issues but there was also an establishment of trust because the homeless people and the volunteers would interact regularly. I wonder if this can extrapolate.
In places without a homeless problem, I’ve never had an issue finding a place to use the bathroom without buying anything. I usually buy something after as a courtesy, but I never promise the storeowner or anything.
ETA: in upscale areas in the East Coast, I often can find public bathrooms, and they’re in good shape. I don’t travel too much, so I don’t have a whole lot of data points.