Our Values
Houselessness is a civic and public health crisis in Portland.
As of 2024 there are more than 8,000 people living without shelter or access to basic health, hygiene, and sanitation services across the city. This leaves our unsheltered neighbors vulnerable to social shunning, isolation, and violence; property loss and theft; hunger and infection; and anxiety and depression. In combination, these conditions heighten risks for addiction and deterioration of physical and mental health.
Portland’s answer to these crises is “sweeps” – where city funded contractors move houseless people off the streets and remove belongings, a practice that costs Portland taxpayers millions, produces trauma, and deepens economic and physical vulnerability. “Sweeps” disrupt daily routines and patterns in ways that make it much harder for unhoused people to make and keep appointments needed to attain the services and housing they need to stabilize their lives, increasing the public costs of providing services. Additionally as of July 2024, the City of Portland has legalized fining and jailing unsheltered Portlanders for the act of sleeping outside. Studies show that finning, jailing, displacing, and dispossessing unsheltered community members prolongs and increases houselessness.
We have imagined a new way.
We have created a system to support our houseless neighbors, keep Portland’s streets clean, and enhance community safety and health for everyone – a way of working that reduces violence and supports dignity and community.
At Hygiene4All we value:
Compassion
We believe that every Portlander deserves dignity and a listening ear.
Innovation
We foster new ideas and ways of working across the housing divide to solve shared public problems.
Collaboration
We work with dozens of partners and gather data and advice from government and nonprofit experts.
Respect
We value the wisdom of the people we serve and continually use that wisdom in the design and continual improvement of our hub. Hiring and paying unsheltered community members helps us ensure they are the backbone of hub culture.
Preparation
We train all staff and volunteers to care for people with trauma in ways that enhance a collective sense of community safety and reduce conflict. Our team equally trains in recognizing, disrupting, and reducing racist, sexist, and anti-LGBTQ+ harm.
The loss of belongings and repeated ticketing and arrest – as well as chronic lack of health, hygiene, and safety infrastucture – generates a spiral of trauma that further harms, isolates, and sends our most vulnerable residents into a spiral of destitution.
Sandra Comstock - Executive Director