Unfortunately, homeless camps and scavenger caches (big piles of stuff collected from dumpsters and elsewhere that are sorted through and then left behind) are often hidden in the trees and vegetation along the edges of rivers, streams, and wetlands within towns and cities. The abandoned stuff from the camps and caches then becomes a major contributor to the trash load in our waterways when the annual floods come up and grab it.

In effect, it’s a conveyor belt that carries trash from the dumpsters, retail zones, and off the back of Johnny's pick up truck (illegal dumping) into the waterways. Our goal is to intercept this conveyor belt and clean up these areas of concentrated litter (and identifying mitigation strategies) as quickly as possible.

To be clear, we're here neither to enable littering or trespassing, nor to assign blame by labeling folks as lazy or criminals. We just want to get the trash before it gets into the streets and environment and waterways.

Some of us do believe that anyone who finds themselves digging through a dumpster for food or other necessities of life deserves our compassion, and in our experience, the trash left behind from these camps are a primary driver of the negative public perception toward homeless people. By cleaning up the camps quickly, we're not only reducing the environmental damage (our chief goal), but also helping to reduce the negative public attitude toward the homeless population. We hope that this will ultimately result in kinder and more effective public policies toward mental illness, addiction, and the many other causal mechanisms of homelessness.​​

Our clean-up events are mostly accomplished by regular folks like you and me who want to be part of the solution. We have fun, create community, and get a little exercise in the process. We might work for 15 minutes or 2 hours...whatever our individual schedules allow. And there's no rush so we work at our own pace. Just bring a pair of work gloves and wear not-sandals, and we supply everything else. We typically circle up to meet and greet, talk about litter-gathering and safety for a few minutes, and then grab our gear and get started. ​

Our goal is to preserve the beauty and natural integrity of our waterways and living spaces, and the fact that you're reading this means that you are already a part of the solution. Thank you.

​

​