Clean Camp PDX provides regular garbage collection for unhoused Portlanders with no access to services including: homeless camps, micro-villages, and homeless service organizations.
We actively engage housed neighbors to support our efforts and unhoused community members managing the garbage container and the surrounding area.
Our funding comes from individuals and Metro under their “Regional Refresh Fund”. It offers flexible funding to support low barrier immediate community cleanup efforts in the Portland metro region.
We believe in collaboration with our unhoused neighbors is a key ingredient to improving their lives while keeping our streets and natural areas cleaner.
We also engage responsible homeless individuals, working in small teams with our partners Southwest Outreach and Ground Score, to clean up blighted areas in the Portland Metro area on a compensated basis. Material is collected in bags and picked up by Metro Rid Patrol throughout the month, or weekly by our commercial partner, Republic Services.
We’ve learned compensating individuals can make a big difference. It gives those living on the street some hope.
Most have no confidence they can improve their lives, find even a part time job or anybody cares about them.
Cash they earn gives them momentum, connections to our partners and a possibility to start digging out of street life.
Who We Are
We started Clean Camp PDX in July 2021 with three pilot locations. The initial aim was to see if by simply providing a container to deposit garbage in would result in less trash on the sidewalks and streets. To no surprise, our unhoused neighbors not only kept the areas clear, but also significantly decrease the number of rodents.
So, in the fall of 2021 we started expanding Clean Camp to more sites.
We are always looking for sites that could benefit from our program. If you or your organization want to propose a specific location for new Clean Camp PDX garbage service site, please contact us with details.
METRO RID Patrol
SW Outreach
