Hygiene4All
Mission
Everyone deserves to feel clean. That's why Hygiene4All runs a hygiene hub under the Morrison Bridge for unsheltered residents of Portland to access showers, bathrooms, hygiene and medical supplies, clean clothing and bedding, and a space for community care.
We were made by community, for community. For 2+ years, we talked with people living on the streets on the Central Eastside about the services they needed and how they wanted them delivered. We recognize that unsheltered Portlanders are the experts on what they need, so we collaborated with houseless Portlanders to design the hub and its services – with paid unsheltered staff helping run the hub.
Bottom Line for Portland
Hygiene4All provides services that enhance the community safety and health of everyone, while at the same time reducing trash on our streets. Hygiene4All models a more efficient and compassionate solution to houselessness in the Central Eastside of Portland than the City’s costly and inhumane "urban camping" policies. Join our hopeful human experiment and support our meaningful mission today!
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As Commissioner Meieran said on our opening day, our little hub stands as proof of what we can “accomplish when we get together, and work with people who are most impacted by our different and ineffective systems and figure out what people genuinely need and want.”
As former City Council Member Eudaly passionately stated: “It shouldn’t be this hard to do something this essential.”
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Too often, unsheltered BIPOC and Queer Portlanders encounter racist, anti-LGBTQ+, sexist, and ableist harms when seeking assistance from traditional providers. We research, document and advocate for our patrons' unmet needs, shedding light on the barriers that prevent our unsheltered neighbors from accessing the basic supplies and services that they need to keep themselves clean and healthy. Our hygiene hub and advocacy work strives to create a place for everyone to feel safe, included, and seen.
Furthermore, H4A's board and staff reflect the diversity of experiences within Portland's unsheltered communities - including Black, Latinx, Native American, Lesbian, Gay, Transgender, and Queer members with experience living on the streets. We also regularly training staff and volunteers on how to disrupt and stop identity-based harm.
Partner(s)
BUSINESS PARTNER
Bathena creates luxurious, handmade soaps, scrubs, candles, and bath bombs, and donates to Hygiene4All for every item sold. Indulge in self-care while making a positive impact in our local community with Bathena!
NONPROFIT PARTNERS
Rahab's Sisters* is committed to building community through radical hospitality with folx who identify as women or gender nonconforming and are marginalized by poverty, houselessness, sex work, violence and substance abuse. They provide emergency mental health support, hot meals, basic hygiene supplies, clothing and community.
Portland Street Medicine* provides holistic street-based medical care to people who are homeless, building trust and working together towards health and healing.
Sisters of the Road* is a social justice organization that uplifts the dignity and autonomy of people experiencing poverty through low/no-cost meals, education and training, a barter work program, advocacy, and a welcoming community space for all.
Animal Aid* enhances the welfare of companion animals through individualized care and lifelong commitment, rescue and adoption, resources and education, and community partnerships.
Street Roots* creates income opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and poverty by producing a newspaper and other media that are catalysts for individual and social change. Street Roots also publishes the Rose City Resource (RCR), the most comprehensive list of services for people experiencing homelessness and poverty in Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties.
Street Books* is a bicycle-powered mobile library, serving people who live outside. They strive to empower people on the streets through access to literature and create a community of support through a shared love of books. Street Books partners with over 30 community-based organizations to offer boxes of books and reading glasses.
PDX Saints Love consists of Community Health Workers and Peer Support Specialists working in solidarity with people living unsheltered to address their health and housing needs and goals.
*This Nonprofit is also participating in Give!Guide 2023!
Hygiene4All is in the Human Services category which is sponsored by The Standard.
They're a small-sized organization with activities in Multnomah Co.