The homeless in north Sacramento now have a mobile restroom to use during daylight hours.
The City of Sacramento has begun a six-month pilot program with the single mobile restroom at the corner of Ahern and North B Streets.
The "Pit Stop" program facility will be available from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Two people on-site will tend to the restrooms and direct people to services.
Carol Mack is homeless and was one of the first to be helped.
"I am just so pleased to hear that they got this out here right now," says Mack. "And, then I was offered to go to Women's Empowerment today, so I'm gonna work on getting off the street, so I think it's great."
Dwayne Cooks is the supervisor for the Financial Analytic Services company that will operate the program.
He says five attendants are being transferred from the San Francisco program.
"They're ambassadors and we want the same thing with these guys out here to be ambassadors and help individuals that want help," says Cooks. "Because they're going to ask for help once they get to know you and you're a part of the community. Once we sit here for about a week or two, they'll get used to us being here, and then they'll start talking to us and then we can engage and try to get em some help."
Herman Coleman is one of five monitors who has transferred from San Francisco's Pit Stop program.
"They need a lot of assistance, a lot of help, and a lot of compassion and that's what Pit Stop is about -compassion," says Coleman. "Right? Not to look down on anyone but to try to help bring themselves up."
City Councilman Jeff Harris hopes the pilot program might lead to money for attendants at existing city facilities.
"We know that a lot of our parks bathrooms suffer the same fate as any unattended bathroom, they just get trashed," says Harris. "That's what happened at Cesar Chavez Plaza. That's why those bathrooms are closed."
The porta potty and staffing will cost the city $100,000.
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