Mobile toilets give homelss a place to go

The streets of San Francisco's Tenderloin neighborhood, blocks away from fancy stores and long lines of tourists waiting for cable cars, have been cleaner since solar-powered toilets started rolling in four afternoons per week.

The bathrooms on wheels, which are mainly used by the neighborhood's homeless population, are guarded by attendants and have been so successful that city officials say Honolulu, New York and Portland, Oregon, have inquired about them as they have sought solutions to similar sanitation problems.

Supporters of the portable pit stops say that having public bathrooms accessible has made the neighborhood - known for its crime, homelessness and poverty - more livable.

"Everyone has to go to the bathroom; that's not something anyone can stop," said Jane Kim, a San Francisco supervisor whose district includes the Tenderloin neighborhood. "This program affords people some dignity to take care of a human need."

Two trailer-mounted toilets with sinks are hauled in on pickup trucks Tuesdays through Fridays to three spots near soup kitchens and a park area that attract large clusters of people. The potties are dropped off at 2 pm and taken away at 9 pm to be cleaned.

Attendants, who work for a nonprofit group contracted by the city, make sure the toilets stay sanitary and keep them stocked with toilet paper, air freshener, soap, paper towels and seat covers. They also give users a courtesy knock after five minutes.

Kaven Harris, 54, said before the toilets were brought in he was forced to relieve himself in parking lots, hiding between cars.

"If this pit stop weren't here, I would be in a parking lot," said Harris, an army veteran who has been living on the streets for about six months. "There is no place to use the bathroom if you're homeless and don't have money."

The pilot program was inspired by a group of students at De Marillac Academy, a private Catholic school in the neighborhood.

They read poems to city officials about their struggles growing up in the Tenderloin, where many said they had to pay close attention to the ground to avoid stepping on syringes and human feces.