The only 24-hour public washroom in Pleasant Hill is closing for the season

The 24-hour public washroom trailer in Pleasant Hill closes for the season on Thursday.

The facility was approved as a pilot project by city councillors in May, with $700,000 committed to buy the trailer itself and staff it around the clock. The decision came in the wake of the summer closure of a warm-up centre at St. Mary’s Parish Hall and reduced hours at Prairie Harm Reduction that left nowhere for nearby homeless folks to perform basic personal care after 6 p.m.

At the facility, which opened in late August, people were free to wash up, rinse their clothes, have a snack and bottle of water provided by the Friendship Inn, or get connected to resources, the city says.

“What this project has done is provide a safe place for people to come have a sense of belonging while being treated with dignity and respect. It also acted as an informal navigation centre for anyone who [was] looking for help, shelter and stability,” said Pamela Goulden McLeod, the city’s director of emergency management.

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Goulden McLeod says the feedback from community partners and the people who relied on the facility, which was set up outside the CUMFI office on Avenue M, was “overwhelmingly positive.”

The city says the 24-hour supervised washroom cost about $506,000 of the $700,000 allocated to the project.

“The facility was fully operational for the entire time it was open, with only minor plumbing repairs needed, which were associated with the high volume of users. There was no intentional damage done to the washrooms at any time.”

It’s not yet known if the partners who operated the warm-up centre at St. Mary’s Hall intend to reopen this winter.