Arta Potties SOS! Why isn't Salem embracing public portable restrooms?

Rebecca Maitland Courtney is frustrated with her home town. She has a right to be.

After coming up with the idea for Arta Potties, artistically-decorated portable toilets that serve both the homeless and ordinary people, she's finding that other cities are giving her a lot more love than Salem. 

I just spent an enjoyable hour talking with Courtney.

She's a caring, creative woman who can't understand why it is so difficult for people in Salem to come together and embrace a great idea: making restrooms a right for all in downtown, rather than a privilege for those who have the money needed to "buy" a place to urinate or defecate by frequenting a business with restrooms.

She told me, "People just don't want to look at homelessness. And they think that Arta Potties attract the homeless." Yet, she added, "They are already here."

Courtney's disappointing experience with placing Arta Potties in Salem echoes the Biblical adage, "No prophet is acceptable in her hometown." 

Last night Oregon City had a wonderful celebration to mark the placing of two Arta Potties after the city's Police Department reached out to Courtney and asked her to help them figure out where to put the portable restrooms and what art to place on them. 

KATU did a piece on the Oregon City Arta Potties. And the Clackamas Review had a story, "Arta Potties Coming to Oregon City." 

The Oregon City Police Department will launch an Arta Potties pilot program to provide clean, safe, aesthetically appealing portable toilets.

On Wednesday, Sept. 27, two Arta Potties will be placed in downtown Oregon City to provide access to public restrooms 24 hours a day. Arta Potties is a community-organized project based in Salem.

According to a news release, OCPD is taking a proactive approach to concerns from the community and business owners regarding people relieving themselves outdoors on both public and private property.

"We also recognize the need for access to restrooms 24 hours a day, specifically for our homeless population who may not have access to restrooms otherwise," OCPD Capt. Shaun Davis said.

But here in Salem, Arta Potties have hit a brick wall of opposition after the first two were placed in the alley behind the Reed Opera House, where Courtney works as a manager, and the First Congregational United Church of Christ at Marion and Cottage. 

Four (or maybe five, can't remember) additional Arta Potties are ready to go.

However, so far the City of Salem hasn't provided a place to put them on city-owned property, as Oregon City is doing. And no downtown businesses other than the Reed Opera House have given Courtney permission for an Arta Potty to be placed on their property.

So what's wrong with Salem?

Courtney told me that yesterday's Oregon City celebration of the placement of that town's first two public portable restrooms was "like a dream" for her. It involved about 20 homeless people, the Chief of Police, about 20 city staff, and Oregon City business owners. 

Here's some photos of the Oregon City event that were posted on the Arta Potties Facebook page. The woman who's singing is homeless.

What's bizarre is that Courtney is getting requests from leaders in cities all around the country for her to travel at their expense to tell them how they can have their own Arta Potties. 

Meanwhile, here in Salem the powers-that-be at City Hall, along with downtown businesses, are giving a cold shoulder to the Arta Pottie movement. Now, to be fair, it appears that most of the City of Salem negativity happened during the Mayor Anna Peterson era.

I told Courtney that the current Mayor, Chuck Bennett, hopefully will be more supportive of her work. Also, there's been a considerable change in the make-up of the City Council, which now has a progressive majority. Courtney just is understandably semi-burnt-out after several years of having doors slammed in her face by City officials and downtown businesses.

So she's looking for more supporters. I certainly am one, after hearing her explain why Arta Potties are needed so badly.

The homeless aren't going to leave Salem if they can't use an Arta Pottie. They'll simply do what they've been doing, which is what anyone would do if you need to go to the bathroom and there's no bathroom to go to: urinate or defecate outside. This raises health issues, along with indecent exposure issues. 

Again, in Oregon City the Police Department took the lead in bringing Arta Potties to town. That hasn't happened yet in Salem. I urged Courtney not to give up on the City of Salem, especially since both Mayor Bennett and most of the city councilors want to address the problems of homeless people in our town in a big way. 

This is an opportunity for Salem to live up to the "Collaboration Capital" nickname that Anna Peterson liked to use during her terms as Mayor, but which has been more of a dream than a reality. 

Currently Oregon City is kicking our butt in that regard.

Let's make this temporary. The City of Salem has promised that Arta Potties will get $4,000 if seven Arta Potties can be placed (in the downtown area, I assume). Courtney has the Arta Potties. What she needs are places to put them.

[Update: Courtney has clarified that the $4,000 from the City would sponsor two Arta Potties for a year each. Her goal has been to place seven.]

Public property is the first choice. Churches are a second choice.

There's no reason why Salem can't step up to the Arta Pottie plate and hit a home run. The beneficiaries aren't only the homeless. It is everybody who needs to go to the bathroom and doesn't have the ability, or cash, to zip into a coffeehouse, restaurant, or wherever and use a restroom there.

It also is everybody who wants to keep Salem's streets and alleys free of human waste. Courtney told me stories of stepping over homeless people who sleep in their own urine or bowel movements.

Geez, what kind of a town are we if we allow this to happen, rather than supporting Rebecca Maitland Courtney in her volunteer efforts to make access to a portable public restroom a right for everybody in the downtown area, especially the homeless?

Comments

[Tom Osvold]

You might want to see how San Diego approaches the homeless problem.
We are in the midst of a hepatitis A epidemic in the downtown area. So far 17 deaths and it's spreading to surrounding communities.
Hepatitis A is spread by fecal germs spread by contact with the germs from fecal matter.
City streets are what the homeless use is the absence of public toilets.
Now San Diego is trying to stop the spread by hosing down streets with caustic chemicals and for Trying to force the homeless out of the downtown area to Balboa Park. Formerly a national tourist draw. Who will go there to expose themselves to Hep A?.
Same goes for the convention center.
We can't keep out NFL team and are losing our label "Americas Finest City"
But, we can keep building starter homes at starting prices of 550,000 for 1700 sq ft

[Courtney]

This is an excellent idea and it seems that the benefits of adding a arta potty. I live in Los Angeles county and I can tell you the homeless downtown are there and doing their business all over the streets. I think businesses would welcome this idea! We have organizations that feed the homeless without consideration of what goes in , must come out!

[N. Blackburn]

Thank you Rebecca for doing the right thing for all the human beings that like to eat!!

[Frank J Aguilar]

Seems like a pretty simple answer to unsanitary conditions that can cause some pretty serious health problems and in some instances death.
If you care and have pride for your city, where is the problem? It is a necessity and afterall aren't we our brother's keeper?
It is love, or the lack of it .., where do you stand, or will you just turn a blind eye?
Frank Aguilar
Maple Valley, WA

[Marilyn K]

Thanks, Brian. Rebecca Maitland is an absolute angel. Voters stepped up to fund a new Salem police station. I think the police could now step up to "protect and serve". Many private organizations and people have offered to sponsor art-a-potties for $75/month but there is the stumbling block of where to put them. HOW HARD CAN THIS BE (we shout into the wind)? There seem to be some city management types who look for ways to obstruct. It's time to put some pressure on the city to step up and do its job!
Pun intended. I'm going to write to Mayor Chuck about this.

[Courtney]

This is an immediate solution for many areas. Every day that passes the streets become more contaminated and disease spreads. Rebecca is an intelligent creative angel.i hope more people in power and business in Salem willl provide these potties for their environment.

[Ella Starr]

How interesting that you talk about how having public portable toilets can keep the streets clean. My husband and I are in charge of our family's reunion this summer actually. We want to find a good portable toilet service we can use for this.