Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect that Witch Slapped is a for-profit business.
PITTSFIELD -- For most of her life, Stephanie Bortz's morning routine went something like this.
She'd wake up, go to the bathroom, take a shower, do her skincare and get dressed. Then she would go about her day.
That was before her husband died last year and she became homeless. Now Bortz, who's 50 years old, said she showers twice a week at a friend's house and relies on public restrooms during the day.
"I'm so used to being able to get up, take a shower, go to the bathroom when I need to," Bortz said. "It's very hard wondering what's going to go on on a day-to-day basis. It's kind of nerve-wracking."
In January, 187 people were experiencing homelessness in Pittsfield. Most of them do not have a bed at the local shelter and spend nights sleeping under the eaves of the library, in the doorway of a store on North Street, inside a parking garage or in a local park.
On those nights, from 10 p.m. until 5 a.m., people are left without access to a single public restroom, where they can use the bathroom without needing to spend money. During the day, that access expands to about 12 public restrooms in and around downtown Pittsfield. But hours vary and not one of the restrooms provide showers.
Bortz and others experiencing homelessness said the lack of public restroom access takes a toll on their mental and physical health, and makes it difficult to prepare for job interviews or a shift at work.
"When you're out here and looking like a scruff, you haven't taken a shower in a week or something like that, people look at you a little differently," said Andrew Alfonso.
A week ago, Pittsfield Mayor Peter Marchetti introduced an ordinance that would amend the city's code to ban people from creating temporary shelter on public property, whether that be a tent in a local park, a bedroll in a doorway on North Street or a sleeping bag tucked under the eaves of the library.
Central Berkshires Mayor Marchetti's encampment ban ordinance draws backlash from housing advocates, city residents By Claire O'Callahan, The Berkshire Eagle 8 min to read
The mayor has said the intention of the ordinance is to safeguard public health and provide clean spaces by limiting "camping and the storage of personal property" in public areas. But homeless people and their advocates have said the ordinance won't solve a public health issue people have been facing for years -- a lack of access to public restrooms.
In downtown Pittsfield there are 12 verified public restrooms. Most of them are offered by nonprofits, which are volunteer-run and have limited hours. Others are located at public parks, at City Hall, in Big Y and in the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority's Joseph R. Scelsi Intermodal Transit Center.
The Pittsfield Police Department used to offer public restrooms as well. But Sgt. Michael Murphy said the main key was stolen years ago and has not been replaced, effectively closing those restrooms to public use.
The department's custodian has a key, and opens the restrooms once a year on Fourth of July, when there are a lot of people visiting downtown, Murphy said. To his knowledge, there have been no efforts to replace the second key or to open the bathrooms for regular public use.
Homeless people said in their experience, that list is far shorter. Bathrooms at Big Y, the Berkshire Athenaeum, the Intermodal Transit Center and Witch Slapped are the only ones they said they can rely on.
Some homeless people said they have also been able to access the restroom at the Berkshire Medical Center emergency room, which is open around the clock, but others said they have been turned away. Hospital staff did not respond by press time to a request for clarification on their bathroom policy.
Other public restrooms have confusing hours, are closed during the winter, tend to be locked or are located in areas some homeless people don't feel comfortable visiting, said a man who goes by the name Panda, and is a leader in the homeless community.
"Some of us are recovering addicts. Some of us are recovering alcoholics. We won't go over there due to the fact of how much s---'s over there," Panda said, referring to the restroom at The Common.
Between the hours of 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., homeless people lose even those limited options. For the span of those eight hours, people without an apartment, a bed at the shelter or a friend's couch to sleep on are left without access to a single public bathroom.
People experiencing homelessness aren't the only ones affected by the lack of public restrooms in downtown Pittsfield. Andy Cambi, the city's director of public health, said it also stands to impact people with certain medical conditions, who may need to access the bathroom more frequently.
"The lack of public access to the bathrooms is a concern for public health," Cambi said.
Public restrooms at Witch Slapped and Wildflower Alliance, two organizations that serve people experiencing homelessness, offer a wide array of free hygiene products. People can pick up deodorant, baby wipes, shampoo and conditioner, mouthwash, menstrual products and condoms, among other products.
But to get a shower, people have few options -- buy a membership at a local fitness center, pay for a motel room for the night, or ask a friend or family member to use their shower.
"You almost limit yourself because you have a tenuous access to a friend or relative's shower. If you bother them too much, you'll lose that access," said Michael Hitchcock, co-founder of Roots & Dreams and Mustard Seeds. "It's all slapdash, ad hoc, clinging to whatever resource you can."
Alfonso, who said he's been homeless for going on five months, has been sleeping in a local park, and using a friend's shower when he can.
"The whole shower situation ... I could smell myself. I was ripe," Alfonso said. "I mean, if I could shower regularly, daily, it could help me get a job."
Showering, shaving, brushing our teeth and washing our faces may seem like small parts of our day, but they're important routines that affect not only our physical health but also our mental well-being, Witch Slapped owner Danielle Munn said.
"We get up every day and pretend that everything's fantastic, but we have these rituals that allow us to maintain that energy level -- emotionally, mentally, spiritually -- it takes to get through the day," Munn said. "When you get home, you release it all again where you're safe. Our unhoused people don't have that opportunity."
Catherine VanBramer, public information officer for the mayor's office, said the city has been hesitant to expand the number of public restrooms it manages in part due to the vandalism of bathrooms at local parks.
"Vandalism that we have experienced has been anything from breaking the lock mechanisms to stealing parts and pieces of the infrastructure, whether that be breaking the sink or plugging things into the toilet that impact the plumbing system," VanBramer said.
Those public restrooms, which already close down during the winter months, have been closed at different times for repairs, making them an unreliable resource, some homeless people said.
VanBramer said the public restroom at The Common was replaced with two portable toilets while it was under repair last year. But the toilets were kept locked, except when being used by the city's playground program and the Pittsfield Farmers Market.
Who is responsible for the vandalism is unclear, VanBramer said, and the city has taken steps to upgrade security at those locations.
Advocates said vandalism of public restrooms is a valid concern. But they pushed back against the idea, shared by some, that homeless people are behind it.
"There is absolutely no evidence that it was homeless people vandalizing their only resource," Hitchcock said. "These people are motivated to take care of their environment just like any of us, and their environment happens to be the street."
Panda said the vandalism comes down to the location -- the bathrooms at the parks are in remote areas where there are fewer people around and they're harder to monitor, he said.
This coming fall, Hearthway will open the doors of a new Housing Resource Center in the basement of Zion Lutheran Church on First Street. The center will offer public restrooms and showers during daytime hours, according to an email from Kristin Coyne, who oversees the nonprofit's properties.
Coyne was unavailable to answer further questions about how many showers will be provided, and whether Hearthway would consider expanding the center's hours to serve people around the clock.
The city funded the resource center with $4,670,000 in American Rescue Plan Act funds.
"The city can't do this work alone and that's why we rely on our social service agencies and organizations to help us navigate the help that is needed in the community," VanBramer said.
Advocates said a 24/7 public restroom facility is still needed. They have some ideas.
Hitchcock proposed campground-style bathrooms and showers on a plot of undeveloped land near downtown. Margot Page, president of Berkshire Interfaith Organizing, floated the idea of converting a bus into mobile showers, a model that's been used in New York City and California.
Homeless people have ideas of their own.
"[Put a portable toilet] down by Big Y because everybody goes down there for food," Panda said. "One by the bus station so it's 24 hours would be nice, either in that little park across or right in the bus station park."