The Overlooked Crisis on Portland’s Streets: No Access to Clean Water

 

In the big and busy city of Portland, it is very easy to just focus on tents, trash, and the politics of homelessness.

However, what often gets overlooked is one of the most basic human needs that many people living on the streets lack: hygiene. Without access to regular showers, clean clothes, or restrooms, the struggle to maintain dignity becomes just as real as the struggle to find food or shelter. Public restrooms in Portland are few and far between. Even when they are available, they often close at night or are heavily policed. For someone living outdoors, taking a shower can require a complicated mix of walking miles, waiting in line, and navigating shame. These barriers affect physical and mental health and make it harder for people to access jobs, healthcare, or even get into a shelter.

Mobile hygiene units have started to fill this gap. Organizations like Sisters of the Road and Outside the Frame have worked in recent years to bring hygiene trailers with showers and sinks to houseless Portlanders. These units travel to different neighborhoods during the week and provide a rare chance for people to feel clean and human again. It is not just about hygiene. Cleanliness reduces the spread of disease, lowers emergency room visits, and helps people build trust with service providers. For many who use these units, it is the first step toward feeling hopeful again. It is also often the only time someone looks them in the eye and talks to them like a person.

Portland has invested in sweeps and shelter beds, but mobile hygiene access is still underfunded. If we want to treat people with dignity and prevent long-term health costs, we need to look beyond housing alone. We need to think about the small but powerful things that allow people to reclaim their identity. Why does this matter? Cleanliness should not be a privilege tied to an address. It is one of the quiet foundations of self-worth, and when we offer people a way to restore it, we give them more than soap and water. We give them a moment of control in a life full of uncertainty. There is no future where we fix this crisis by ignoring what it means to be human. We cannot end homelessness without first seeing the people in it.

You can help bring dignity and hope to Portland’s unhoused community. To support mobile hygiene programs, click here: https://www.sistersoftheroad.org/get-involved

References:

Greene, J. (2024). 2024 Oregon Statewide Homelessness Estimates. Portland State University 

    Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative.https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/hrac_pub/51/

Washington Post. (2025, March 4). Dysentery is on the rise in Oregon. Here's what to know. Retrieved 

    from https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/03/04/dysentery-outbreak-portland-oregon/