Benton Project is Approved!
PRIVACY AND DIGNITY
Helping unhoused people off the streets and into housing, especially in a safe and clean environment and community, can combat the public image that dehumanizes unhoused people.
Access to private bathrooms and showers allows for better personal hygiene. Much of the stigma and dehumanization of unhoused people comes for perceived poor hygiene, which would not exist if those people had access to personal hygiene.
The old dorm-style or congregated shelters are dehumanizing, with little to no privacy and rules that force residents to leave at early hours and wait in line for a spot for the night. This project is proposed to be individual units with locks on the doors and private bathrooms.
Individual units with locks on the doors and a stable residence will limit crime between those staying in the facility.
SOURCES
Emergency Calls, Complaints Are Down Near San José's Temporary Housing Sites. So Why Are They Still So Politically Risky?
Violations of the to Privacy for Persons Experiencing Homelessness in the United States