Chairperson Nadeau and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today. My name is Kate Coventry, and I am the Deputy Director of Legislative Strategy at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute (DCFPI). DCFPI is a non-profit organization that shapes racially-just tax, budget, and policy decisions by centering Black and brown communities in our research and analysis, community partnerships, and advocacy efforts to advance an antiracist, equitable future.
I am here today to ask the DC Council to add funding to the fiscal year (FY) 2025 budget to continue the standalone public restroom pilot. Public restrooms promote racial and economic equity, as a local study found that businesses were more likely to deny access to a restroom to Black non-customers who appeared possibly homeless than white customers who appeared housed.[1] Most residents experiencing homelessness do not have money to make purchases at these establishments to be able to gain access to the restroom.
The law mandating a standalone restroom pilot passed in FY 2019. DC Council allocated funding to the FY 2022 Department of General Services budget to implement the pilot, but the agency failed to launch the pilot. So the Council added a one-time allotment of $407,000 to the FY 2024 budget to launch the pilot. The District recently secured a contractor for the pilot but has not yet installed the restrooms. The mayor’s proposed FY 2025 budget failed to include recurring funding to continue the pilot, and if the Council does not add an additional $407,000, the pilot will end in the middle of FY 2025.
Public Restrooms are Fundamental to Human Dignity and Health
Passed unanimously by the Council in 2019, the Public Restroom Facilities Installation and Promotion Act mandated the creation of pilot standalone restrooms in the District. The Council recently chose five locations to be included in the pilot, but these restrooms have not been installed yet. Allocating funding in the FY 2025 budget can ensure the piloted restrooms that are successful can continue to operate.
Public restrooms are especially critical for people who are restroom-challenged.[2] When seniors, pregnant women, young children, and people on certain medications have to go, sometimes they have to go urgently. Knowing that there are public restrooms readily accessible, people are more apt to visit parks, ride their bikes, jog, and walk. Easily accessible, clean, safe restrooms make good business sense and help foster tourism.[3] As a result, more and more cities are investing in public restrooms.[4]
Residents experiencing homelessness, in particular, stand to benefit from public restroom expansions. The pandemic made restroom access worse, as many downtown businesses closed restrooms that non-customers once were able to use. And even prior to the pandemic, there was evidence that fewer businesses were allowing non-customers to use their restrooms.
For example, in 2015, the People for Fairness Coalition (PFFC) visited 85 businesses in five areas of DC that have high levels of pedestrian traffic and people experiencing homelessness to see if they would allow the general public to access their restrooms. PFFC found that just over half of the businesses allowed anyone to use their restroom.[5] One year later, they visited these businesses again and found that ten of these businesses now limited access to individuals who weren’t customers.[6] They also found that businesses discriminated against a PFFC member experiencing homelessness who visited the restrooms. Multiple businesses allowed a white woman who appeared housed to use the restroom but not a Black man who appeared possibly homeless.[7]
The lack of access to bathrooms is not merely an inconvenience—it can have devastating health and public health consequences. People are encouraged to wash their hands frequently to stop the spread of COVID and other germs. Catherine Crossland of Unity Healthcare has testified about her patients skipping lifesaving blood pressure, heart, and HIV/AIDS medications because they can lead to an urgent need for the restroom.[8] Southern California experienced a large Hepatitis A outbreak from 2017 to 2019 because of the lack of toilets and handwashing facilities for residents experiencing homelessness.[9] At least 21 people died as a result.[10]
By increasing access to public restrooms, the District can be a friendlier place for residents with illnesses and disabilities, tourists, children and their caretakers, and residents experiencing homelessness. After years of waiting, restrooms are finally being installed. Continuing funding will fulfill the promise laid out in the Public Restroom Facilities Installation and Promotion Act. I urge the Council to add funding to continue the public restroom pilot.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify, and I am happy to answer any questions.
[1] People for Fairness Coalition, “Revisiting, One Year Later, Private Facilities in DC That Let Us Use Their Restrooms,’ January 2017.
[2] People for Fairness Coalition, “The Restroom Challenged, from the American Restroom Associate website,” Accessed March 29, 2022.
[3] Mary Beth Quirk, “The Future of Tourism is Public Toilets,” Consumerist, the blog of Consumer Reports, September 5, 2017.
[4] Sarah Breitenbach, “Cities Look to Public Restrooms to Clean Up Downtowns, Attract Tourists,” Huffington Post, September 5, 2017.
[5] People for Fairness Coalition, “Does Downtown Washington DC Have Restrooms That Are Clean, Safe, and Available to Everyone 24/7,” Accessed April 3, 2023.
[6] People for Fairness Coalition, “Revisiting, One Year Later, Private Facilities in DC That Let Us Use Their Restrooms,’ January 2017.
[7] The People for Fairness Coalition dressed the tester who was to appear homeless in a large, tattered jacket, a sock hat, and loose slacks. People experiencing homelessness have many looks just as others do.
[8] Catherine Crosland, “Testimony Regarding B22-223 ‘Public Restroom Installation and Promotion Act of 2017,’” Unity Health Care, January 10, 2018.
[9] Anna Gorman, “‘Medieval’ Diseases Flare as Unsanitary Living Conditions Proliferate,” California Healthline, March 12, 2019.
[10] Ibid.