WASH and the Question of Water Access: A New Report Elevates the Voices of People Experiencing Homelessness

Do you know what WASH is? WASH stands for Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene and it’s an essential framework for understanding the challenges faced by people experiencing homelessness when it comes to accessing water for basic human needs. Many of us take safe drinking water, showers, laundry, and private restrooms for granted, but for many people experiencing homelessness, accessing water for health and hygiene can be a daily struggle.

Downtown Streets Team and VOICES conducted surveys of over 600 people experiencing homelessness throughout the Bay Area, and found that the human right to water has not been met for the members of this community, who encounter difficulty accessing water for drinking, bathing, laundry, and sanitation. Perhaps more surprising is that people experiencing homelessness are not yet included in the state’s efforts to monitor progress in achieving the human right to water.

The survey results collected by DST and VOICES contribute to a September 2022 report that recommends greater access to water and related facilities. The report states that while access to facilities are a step in the right direction, to meaningfully meet existing needs, these facilities must be in an accessible location, well-maintained and stocked with necessary supplies, safe, free or affordable, and available throughout the day and night.

The “Needs Assessment with People Experiencing Homelessness,” forms part of a much larger Needs Assessment Report, which is the product of the collective work of many partners, as led by Disadvantaged Communities and Tribes. You can read the full Needs Assessment Report on the San Francisco Estuary Partnership website here. To go directly to the “Needs Assessment with People Experiencing Homelessness,” click here.