Advocates For Waltham's Unhoused Population Rally For Day Shelter

WALTHAM, MA — More than 100 people logged in Thursday night to listen, share experiences and create awareness surrounding two imminent problems facing Waltham's community of unhoused people: A lack of warm, safe places to shelter during the day here as winter approaches, and clean public toilets.

"If your mother, brother or sister was without a bathroom, what would you do?" said Matt Carriker a Protestant Chaplain at Brandeis University. "Of course you'd provide it. No one should be left out in the cold without a bathroom."

The advocates said that through the rally, held online because of the pandemic, they wanted to draw the mayor's attention to community support for the need for what they called some basic human rights for the unhoused community.

There are two emergency shelters for single adults operated by the nonprofit Middlesex Human Services Agency in Waltham. The men's shelter can house about 44, but currently hold 20, and the women's shelter houses 10. Both are only open overnight from about 4 p.m. until 8 a.m. and those staying are not permitted to return during the day, not even to use the restroom.

Waltham advocates for people experiencing homelessness in Waltham estimate there are about 20 to 30 people who do not stay in the shelters. They might stay on benches, in ATM vestibules or tents in wooded areas instead. Some of them recently lost their homes after a bad break up or job loss, others have been unhoused for several years. Many are sober. Some have a history of mental illness or have a substance abuse disorder.

But just because some haven't gotten to the point where they can manage their disorders, said Rev. Becky Sheble-Hall, a community minister with First Parish in Waltham, doesn't mean they don't deserve compassion.

"It doesn't mean they should freeze," said Sheble-Hall, who is also the director of Chaplains on the Way, an outdoor chaplaincy to people in Waltham who are experiencing homelessness and poverty.

Some 99 people all with Waltham connections in the Zoom call listened to a man who stays at the Bristol Lodge men's shelter share his experience. He said just the thought of the coming winter made him feel desperate.

"To hear Patrick say that he's afraid of winter this year, it crumbles me a bit," Sheble-Hall said.

Before the pandemic people experiencing homelessness could go into the library or grab a cup of coffee inside a fast food restaurant to stay warm or dry if it got cold or wet or snowed. But when the pandemic hit and businesses and public places closed they had nowhere to go. They huddled in alcoves, and under umbrellas until it was time to head back to the shelter. They'd stand in line outside the Waltham Community Day Center, a day shelter that had to stop letting people inside because it was too small to follow CDC guidelines, for food.

If they had to go to the bathroom, many took to using the street if they couldn't hold it. Some used more public places.

About two weeks ago, after advocates implored the mayor to bring back public bathrooms for the public to use, two new portable toilets quietly appeared near the library. Mayor Jeannette McCarthy had previously argued that the portable toilets both set up on the Waltham Common in April and the two set outside the Community Day center had been abused and vandalized. Advocates argued they needed to be serviced daily, not just once a week. The portable toilets near the library are cleaned twice a week.

The number one concern among many of the people staying at the Bristol, which is a shelter for people who are sober, is having some place dry and warm to go when it gets cold, advocates and people experiencing homeless said.

"Above all else [people just want to] be seen as worthy of dignity and respect," Chanthal Harris, the executive director of the Waltham Black Future Fund said. "I believe housing is a human right... I really hope we can work with the mayor to collaborate on a solution that best serves the needs of our unhoused community with access to clean bathrooms and shelter."

City Councilors Kristine Mackin and Jonathan Paz both attended, and threw their support behind the effort.

Jenna Fisher is a news reporter for Patch. Got a tip? She can be reached at Jenna.Fisher@patch.com or by calling 617-942-0474. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram (@ReporterJenna). Have a something you'd like posted on the Patch? Here's how .