For people experiencing homelessness, there are few places in D.C. to take a shower — just three public shower locations are open in the city, according to Ward 2 Councilmember Brooke Pinto.
Currently, Pinto said, people experiencing homelessness can only access showers at the Downtown Day Services Center, So Others May Eat, and Mount Vernon Place United Methodist Church, which she said many people can’t easily reach. For laundry facilities, which Pinto described as a “basic need,” the situation is similar. People can use laundry machines at Thrive DC, Shirley’s Place Day Center, N Street Village, and Father McKenna Center, but Pinto said people still lack access to the service. This creates what Pinto calls a “major gap” in access to hygiene services.
“We need to recognize the reality that people have basic needs around using the restroom, using laundry facilities, taking a shower,” Pinto said.
To meet these needs, Pinto recently introduced the “Hygiene and Laundry Access Pilot Program Act of 2024,” which would require District officials to add at least one public shower and laundry facility to each quadrant of the city. The bill is currently sitting in the Committee on Public Works and Operations a month after its late September proposal, though it likely won’t pass before the current council period ends in December. Pinto would be able to reintroduce the bill next year.
People experiencing homelessness have long asked the city to provide better sanitation and hygiene services. During the first few years of the pandemic, D.C. provided portable toilets and handwashing stations near encampments, though the city eventually stopped paying for the services. The People For Fairness Coalition, made of up people with lived experience of homelessness, has been advocating for increased public restrooms in D.C. since 2014. The council passed a bill to authorize pilot programs and conduct research.
Hygiene is one of the issues people experiencing homelessness “most frequently” speak to Pinto and her office about, which Pinto said prompted her to advocate for increased public access to restrooms last spring. This summer, the city launched a pilot program to install Throne Labs public bathrooms in Dupont Circle and Downtown D.C. During the pilot process, which ran from April through September, Pinto said she heard from more people who struggle to remain clean while living outside, which inspired her to propose legislation that would expand services to include showers and laundry.
Pinto said it’s “essential” people are able to wash themselves and their clothes, especially if they’re applying for jobs or have chronic health issues. She said expanding the number of public showers will help “break down barriers” for people who want to use the facilities but can’t travel too far.
If passed, the bill would require the Department of Public Works to install at least one mobile shower — equipped with a laundry machine and hygiene products — in each of D.C.’s quadrants. Each shower must be open at least 12 days every month for at least six hours a day, with a portion of those times between 3 p.m. and 9 p.m., according to the proposed legislation. In the case of severe weather during a scheduled shift, the city must make a “reasonable attempt” to reschedule the opening hours.
The bill requires the city provide shampoo, conditioner, body wash, disposable razors, washcloths, and towels in the showers. The bill also asks that the showers be fully staffed, offer a secure place for personal belongings, and provide laundry supplies.
According to the proposal, the shower and laundry facilities would be operated by local organizations funded through grants from the city. The organizations would then have to collect monthly data on usage by date and time, any vandalism or mistreatment of the space, cleanliness, and user experience.
Pinto said the Neighborhood Well Project, a nonprofit offering shower spaces that piloted in Hyattsville, Maryland, in 2021, helped her imagine how she could implement mobile showers in the District.
Omolayo Adebayo, the founder and chief executive officer of The Neighborhood Well, said her goal in offering mobile showers is to “reach people where they are,” especially those who utilize day center hygiene spaces that are closed on the weekends. She said mobile showers make it easier for people to access hygiene services without long commutes, because the nonprofit can place the showers close to neighborhoods.
“I believe our program and shower services allow guests to have a moment of privacy that they may rarely get, and an opportunity to maintain their hygiene in a safe and clean environment,” Adebayo wrote in an email.
In Hyattsville, Adebayo said her team sets up between four and six showers each time they conduct outreach, and creates a shower schedule, with users signing up for a slot in-person the same day. She said many people come to the showers to talk and enjoy the refreshments table the team sets up, even if they don’t want to shower.
“Showers are a small but crucial part of making sure that people maintain healthy hygiene habits, which then aid in helping maintain healthier mental health,” Adebayo wrote.
While public showers don’t eliminate the need to help people experiencing homelessness find a more permanent place to stay, Pinto said they can help people get jobs, maintain confidence, and stay healthy.
“We have to do a better job about providing those services as we continue on our longer-term mission of supplying housing to everyone,” Pinto said.
