Jean Fedigan has been handing out food and sanitary supplies to the homeless during the coronavirus emergency, but like many other shelter workers, she can鈥檛 allow anyone in the doors during the day at the Sister Jose Women鈥檚 Center.
That, coupled with the fact that public restrooms in 蜜柚直播 parks have shuttered their doors to help contain the spread of the coronavirus, has left the city鈥檚 homeless population with limited places to wash their hands.
鈥淚t鈥檚 terrible,鈥 said Fedigan, the center鈥檚 executive director. 鈥淚 do what I can at the door but I can鈥檛 let them in. The impact for them is huge.鈥
Local city officials and outreach groups have come up with a low-tech and simple solution: Tippy taps. They鈥檙e wooden, self-standing structures. Users push a lever with their foot and water comes out of a plastic container, allowing them to wash their hands with a bar of soap attached to the structure with string.
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Watershed Management Group is installing 20 of these devices around 蜜柚直播 outside places where homeless people gather to eat, like shelters, soup kitchens and parks, including Sister Jose and Casa Maria.
A sign in English and Spanish is next to the structures, explaining how to use them, along with basic sanitation information.
The Kaimas Foundation, a charitable group that does work locally and internationally, donated $3,500 to pay for them.
鈥淥ur goal is to find small solutions to big problems, and look for things that we can do that fill a gap,鈥 said Ann Charles, the foundation鈥檚 executive director and chief of staff for City Councilman Steve Kozachik. 鈥淭his was the perfect example of that.鈥
The idea for the tippy taps stemmed from brainstorming sessions between Charles, Kozachik, and several of the shelter directors after they figured out there were large groups of homeless people going to certain locations to eat with no sanitation available.
鈥淲e want to give people the opportunity to follow the same sanitation guidelines that you and I can and that the CDC is recommending before they get their food,鈥 Kozachik said.
The Kaimas Foundation had worked with Watershed Management Group internationally in India and Africa before, installing the tippy taps and educating people on how to build them.
Lisa Shipek, Watershed鈥檚 executive director, said she liked it as a solution for 蜜柚直播.
Jean Fedigan, executive director of the Sister Jose Women鈥檚 Shelter located at 1050 S. Park Ave., shows the 鈥淭ippy tap鈥 hand wash station to a woman.
Shipek said the design is great because 鈥渁nyone can find some sticks and a plastic jug and some string,鈥 plus, 鈥渋t鈥檚 just kind of fun to use a tippy tap.鈥
鈥淚t鈥檚 still really low-tech and can be easily replicated at scale,鈥 Shipek said, adding that it costs between $10 and $15 for construction materials to make one.
鈥淛ust knowing that we can help fill that need in a really short time is really great, and I think that because this is a low-tech solution that has been used across the globe, it will be really helpful,鈥 she said.
One of the first tippy taps in 蜜柚直播 was installed outside the Sister Jose shelter. Fedigan said it鈥檚 been a hit, with one woman already asking if she can bring it back to her encampment.
鈥淚 had to laugh. I said, 鈥業 don鈥檛 think I鈥檓 going to be done with it for a while. I鈥檓 kind of liking it,鈥 and the lady laughed too,鈥 Fedigan said. 鈥淢ost homeless are very appreciative of anything we do.鈥
She said she鈥檚 appreciative of the idea.
鈥淚 think we all try as hard as we can to ensure safety, but can you imagine being on the street at this time?
鈥淭he obstacles they face daily is hard, but then you have the scare of the virus,鈥 she said.
鈥淭his is about the community coming together, trying to figure out how to help one another. The fact that they鈥檙e able to give us tippy taps for use to whoever wants to use it, I think is an extraordinary gesture,鈥 she said.
Alana Minkler is a journalism student at the University of 蜜柚直播 who is an apprentice for the 蜜柚直播.
