Activists, Media Outnumber Homeless in Protest of Reduced Hours at Public Showers

A City Hall demonstration to protest cutbacks in public indoor shower facilities attracted more organizers and reporters than homeless people Tuesday.

Organizers had pledged that homeless people would clean themselves inside City Hall to publicize cutbacks. “This is about a human and a civil right--the right to clean yourself before starting the day or going to work,” said attorney Cynthia Anderson, a member of Women of Conscience, which sponsored the protest.

Jennefar Waggoner, 27, a homeless woman who said she hadn’t bathed in two weeks, cleaned herself in a sink. Washing herself minus shower facilities “is really messy, with lots of water on the floor,” she said after washing her feet in the sink.

Protesters said that earlier this year the city cut back use of its principal indoor public showers from 16 hours a day to three, resulting in long delays for the homeless.

Tracy Scruggs, the city’s homeless services coordinator, said the city provides “ample resources here for the homeless. They may not always be convenient, but they’re there.”