An initiative aimed at giving the unsheltered population safe places to go to the bathroom is moving forward with installing temporary washrooms.
The Places to Go – Public Restroom Strategy put together with the City of Winnipeg and community partners such as End Homelessness Winnipeg will be opening seven public bathrooms to give those experiencing homelessness a dignified place to go to the bathroom.
“The Places to Go Strategy is about profound human dignity and making sure that Winnipeg’s most vulnerable among us have access to basic human rights and necessities," Sherri Rollins, Winnipeg's Chairperson of the Standing Policy Committee on Protection, Community Services and Parks says in a statement.
The first locations set to open are at 473 Selkirk Avenue, 26 Osborne Street, and 345 Portage Avenue. In the upcoming days, three units at 75 Martha Street and one at 222 Furby Street will open.
“Winnipeg has transformed since the last public washroom closed, and I’m happy to see this strategy moving forward to ensure there will be more places to go Downtown,” Mayor Brian Bowman says.
The city says toilet paper is being provided and the washrooms will be cleaned at least three times a week.
The seven temporary washrooms cost $50,000 to build, coming from the $670,000 Community Response Fund for Vulnerable Populations grant from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
The remaining $620,000 will be used to create permanent facilities downtown in 2021.
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