Tent City gets new facility with restrooms, showers

The Community of Hope’s Tent City now has a restroom facility thanks to the help of donations.

Organizers, donors and officials held a tissue cutting event, where officials cut rolls of toilet paper to mark the exciting new addition.

“We thank you all very much for the showers, and boy we can’t wait, hot water! That’s what everybody has been waiting on,” one Tent City resident said.

For years, the Las Cruces homeless community has found shelter in the Tent City at the Community of Hope. The restrooms at the shelter are Porta Potty’s and their showers include a small painted plastic cover with a water hose.

“When a person is desolate he has no where else to go, what’s going to happen? He’s gonna do what he needs to do and this helps,” Resident Edward Derk said.

With the help of donations, Tent City now has an actual facility complete with a toilet, urinal, sinks and showers.

“Having lived in the camp for the first two years I can say I’m happy to see those port a potties are going. But this is gonna make the quality of life better,” Tent City’s Outreach Coordinator Matt Mercer said.

Mercer went from living at Tent City to becoming the shelter’s outreach coordinator. He says it’s come a long way.

“When we first started this camp it was just dirt and tents,” Mercer said.

Even as the community celebrated Thursday, talk turned to the future. A plan is in the works to build three-sided structures that’ll protect tents from wind and rain.

“The project the need is always ongoing and I think the question we simply have to ask ourselves is not did we did a good job, but what’s next.”

Officials hope the structures will be built this fall.