HOMELESS WATCH : Street Smart

The homeless have the same needs as everyone else, and those needs include access to toilets. Thanks to a persistent advocate, Alice Callaghan, the poor men and women of Skid Row can count on six toilets placed on private property in downtown Los Angeles.

The private action was taken after Mayor Tom Bradley and City Councilman Richard Alatorre caved in under pressure from businesses that opposed city-funded toilets. The businesses objected to homeless people using portable toilets placed on nearby public property.

While the concerns are understandable, denying the homeless access to toilets solves nothing.

Callaghan, of Las Familias del Pueblo, would not be denied. She already had public-health approval from Ralph Lopez of the Los Angeles County Health Department. She found landlords who were willing to rent her a corner of a parking lot on Main between Second and Third streets and a little space on a vacant lot on San Julian between Sixth and Seventh.

More toilets are needed; Callaghan is seeking additional locations. Las Familias, a tiny social service agency, is bearing the cost--roughly $2,500 per month, which includes daily cleaning. Meanwhile, Callaghan is looking for outside funding.

The downtown homeless had few choices when they needed to use a toilet. The portable toilets aren’t the perfect solution because the locks have been removed to keep drug addicts and prostitutes from locking others out. But the restrooms are certainly an improvement over the street.