Impact Reduction Program Overview

Information
A worker for Central City Concern's Clean Start Program tosses a bag of trash into a truck as part of a campsite cleanup.
The City of Portland’s Homelessness and Urban Camping Impact Reduction Program provides garbage removal, hygiene access, resource referral and job opportunities – and removes campsites that pose the highest risk to health and safety.

Using empathy and innovation, we minimize the impacts of homelessness today while partner programs expand long-term access to safe, affordable housing.

Cleanup and Garbage Removal

Work teams help clean trash and debris at campsites – as much as 800,000 pounds per month.

Access to Hygiene

Hygiene is a human right. The Impact Reduction Program helps people experiencing homelessness have better access to hygiene facilities by placing portable toilets in key areas of town.

Partnerships and Job Opportunities

Pilot programs pay people with lived experience to clean trash or educate peers about public works projects.

Campsite Assessments and Removals

When concerns are reported, a team is dispatched to assess health and safety. The highest-risk sites are scheduled for removal; personal property is safely stored.

Concerned About a Campsite?

File a report online or by calling 311 or 503-823-4000. After you file your report, an outreach team with lived experience will assess health and safety risks, and work with people living in the encampment to improve the situation. As a last resort, sites that pose the highest risk are scheduled for removal.

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