Seattle To Deploy Shower Trailers For Homeless Residents

SEATTLE, WA — Seattle is setting up a pair of new shower trailers to help homeless residents stay hygienic during the coronavirus pandemic.

The first trailer will be deployed Friday at King Street Station, and will be available for use Monday through Friday.

The other will alternate between Lake City and Seattle Center. At first, it will be set up at Seattle Center this Thursday and Friday, but in the weeks ahead it will be at Seattle Center Tuesday and Wednesdays, and in Lake City on Saturdays and Sundays starting on May 30. The mobile trailer may also move to other locations on the other days of the week, but those plans are still being finalized.

Wednesday Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan tweeted her support for the program and commended Seattle Public Utilities for making it possible.

Each of the shower trailers will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, holidays excluded. Both will be staffed by the Millionair Club Charity.

The city is also touting a new hygiene map— an interactive tool that allows residents to find nearby public facilities they can use to clean up. Public utilities' leader say, it's especially important that people be able to freely access these facilities during the pandemic.

“Hygiene is a basic need and more important than ever during the COVID-19 crisis,” said Mami Hara, the General Manager of Seattle Public Utilities.

The full, interactive hygiene map can be found on the Seattle Department of Human Service's website here.