Dear Editor,
My presentation to city council.
My name is Linda Meyer. I sincerely hope, via my presentation, to persuade the city of Maple Ridge, to provide 24/7 access to portable flush toilets for primarily homeless people.
Before I continue, I understand the Hub, which operates out of the parking lot of the Ridge Church has mobile showers and washrooms. However, the Hub according to the newspaper article entitled “New funding needed for Maple Ridge’s Hub” is open Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays. Also, the Hub closes at 6 p.m. So, on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, as well as after 6 p.m., homeless people have access to public washrooms in, mostly shopping malls and gas stations.
In this paper’s appendix I listed all of the public washrooms that I know of that are located in Maple Ridge. I felt compelled to use an appendix because of my presentation’s time restraint.
The Hub’s public flush toilets need to operate 24/7. Or if that is not feasible then the city of Maple Ridge needs to find a suitable place, somewhere in downtown Maple Ridge, where it can place the public toilets, and have them operate 24/7.
Now I know what the majority of you are thinking, which is Maple Ridge can’t afford to purchase portable toilets. That is a worn-out excuse that continues to marginalize, and plague homeless people. Maple Ridge can apply to the B.C. government for grants and/or low interest loans like it did when it got a Strengthening Communities’ Services grant from the province for $1.3 million dollars.
The Hub and/or the city of Maple Ridge can apply for funding from the Union of British Columbia Municipalities like Burnaby’s Society to End Homelessness did. Or the city of Maple Ridge can access money from its contingency funds and savings across city departments like Vancouver did.
Now that I have made my request, I have nine minutes to persuade Maple Ridge council to purchase the much needed and necessary public toilets.
Homeless People Defecating in Public
What I experienced on Oct. 28, 2024, which I will explain shortly, motivated me to use my critical thinking, reading, and writing skills to lobby the city of Maple Ridge to provide homeless people with 24 hour a day, access to a portable, public toilet.
On Oct. 28, 2024, I had a very disturbing, and upsetting experience as I walked past the downtown Diary Queen. I saw a man, he was in Dairy Queen’s bushes, with his pants down around his ankles and he was defecating in view of the public, which is against the law.
I was upset I went inside Diary Queen, and I spoke to a female employee. I told her that a man was relieving himself, he was not urinating, inside some bushes that were on Diary Queen’s property. Two female employees went outside and told the man to leave. I also left because I had a meeting to go to.
In a letter to Dairy Queen I asked Dairy Queen to remove the bushes that are on Dairy Queen’s property. To date, I have had not had a reply. So, my next move is to find out who owns the said Diary Queen and convince the owner of Diary Queen to remove the bushes from its property.
What upset me more than the public nudity is the public health hazard that the man created by defecating in public. It is common knowledge defecating in public [can spread] diarrhea, and intestinal worm infections. It is also [can spread] disease like typhoid, cholera, hepatis, polio, trachoma, and other diseases.
Without providing homeless people with access to a 24 hour per day public toilet the chance of having an outbreak of disease is exponentially increased. The outbreak of diseases will spread from homeless people to the general public, which includes members of Maple Ridge council.
After I left my meeting I went to Tim Horton’s, as I wanted to have a coffee with my girlfriend. I was still upset, so I told my girlfriend what happened. I regret telling her what happened because she became upset. I felt bad. When I was lining up to buy coffee, I told a complete stranger what happened to me. I wondered why the homeless man didn’t use the public washroom in Haney Place Mall. The stranger told me that some homeless people are banned from various businesses, including Tim Horton’s. They are not banned for being homeless. They are banned for other reasons like shoplifting, creating a disturbance, uttering threats, assault, and disturbing the peace. I believe most homeless people that are banned from various businesses suffer from some form of mental illness and/or drug addiction.
Even though I was upset, I still felt sorry for the homeless man. Where is the human dignity in defecating in public view? It must have been demoralizing for the homeless man to have to defecate in public. He is not alone. Moreover, the public washrooms are not open 24 hours a day. So, after the public washrooms are closed, homeless people are forced to defecate in public.
The next issue I am going to discuss might make some people (I mean mostly men) feel uncomfortable. So, before I continue if any man feels queasy about me discussing homeless menstruating women, then I suggest the person leave the room. Menstruation is a natural part of the cycle of life. No, I am not wandering off my main topic. Menstruating homeless women urgently require additional sanitation services, like access to a 24 hour per day public flush toilets, and hygiene supplies. Homeless women’s menstruation cycle doesn’t stop when the public toilets close for the night….
Conclusion
It took me about a week to write this paper, as I invoked my critical thinking, reading and writing skills, which involved conducting some internet research on the plight of homeless people. I also spoke to some members of the public about homeless people being forced to defecate in view of the public.
I was shocked, surprised and saddened by the backlash I received. I was told, by numerous people, that I was wasting my time. I do not consider trying to improve homeless people’s human dignity a waste of time. Another person I spoke to showed me his empty wallet, and he said he was sick and tired of financially supporting homeless people through his taxes.… He spends the majority of his money on alcohol and cigarettes.
All of the people I spoke to said they were concerned with homeless people trashing their 24/7 public toilet. Regardless of that dire warning, I still believe that we should try and reinstate homeless people’s human dignity by providing them with access to a public toilet. If homeless people trash their public toilet then we should try and repair it. Removing the public toilet should not be considered because why should all homeless people, and in particular women, suffer the consequences of not having access to a 24/7 public toilet.
I don’t care how much backlash and resistance there is to providing homeless people with 24 hour per day access to public flush toilets, and neither should Maple Ridge council.
Doing nothing is not an option because having homeless people resort to defecating in public festers and promotes a totally preventable public health epidemic. So, please provide homeless people with 24/7 access to public toilets, which will restore homeless people’s human dignity, and will maintain the public health of the citizens of Maple Ridge.
Appendix
List of Public Washrooms
The community resource HUB is at the Ridge Church, which is located at 22155 Lougheed Highway. The Ridge Church is near downtown Maple Ridge. The Hub offers the following free services: showers, laundry, and public washrooms. But, the public washrooms are not available 24/7.
The Maple Ridge Salvation Army, is located in downtown Maple Ridge (on the corner of Lougheed Highway and the Haney By-Pass) and has public washrooms available from 10 am to 5:30 pm 7 days a week.
McDonald's restaurants will let the public use their washroom. The Maple Ridge Walmart will permit the public to use their washroom. Haney Place Mall, which is located in downtown Maple Ridge, has a public washroom. The Save-on-Foods stores in Maple Ridge allow the public to use their washroom. Maple Ridge’s Valley Fair Mall also has a public washroom. The Maple Ridge library has public washrooms, and so does the Ridge- Meadows Hospital. Gas stations let the public use their washroom. The only washroom I know of that is open 24/7 is the washroom located in the Ridge-Meadows Hospital. Consequently, Maple Ridge needs to have a public washroom that is open 24/7.
Linda Meyer, Maple Ridge
