Across the United States, many cities are facing an unprecedented homelessness crisis. With America experiencing the highest levels of unemployment in decades and unaffordable housing costs, the economy seems to be collapsing. The homeless lose more than shelter; they lose human dignity, and without upward mobility, can fall into a life of substance abuse and violence.
Portland’s Growing Homelessness Crisis
Portland, Oregon, is a city that has one of the highest rates of homelessness in the U.S.. The city’s 2023 Point in Time Count revealed a 65% increase in homelessness between 2015 and 2023. Currently, over 6,200 people are living on the streets or in unsheltered living (makeshift encampments, etc.). This is compared to 8 years prior, with fewer than 1,900 homeless persons at the time. As government funding is continuously cut and diminishes, public services suffer strain, and communities, as tents and makeshift shelters now line entire neighborhoods.
A Grassroots Solution to Waste and Poverty
Amid this crisis, a grassroots effort called Ground Score offers a creative solution to these mounting issues facing the homeless. The nonprofit, created by people who have experienced homelessness themselves, gives jobs and purpose to those often excluded from society. With support from the sustainability nonprofit Trash for Peace.
They also manage a group of recyclers, waste pickers, and other environmental workers who perform waste management jobs around the city. Their mission is simple: clean up the city while creating dignified employment opportunities for people without stable housing.
The Birth of Project GLITTER
In 2021, the organization signed a contract with Portland officials and launched GLITTER (Ground Score Leading Inclusively Together Through Environmental Recovery). The initiative hires those who have experienced or are experiencing homelessness, addressing 2 critical issues.
Firstly, the initiative gives an opportunity for homeless persons to work out of poverty. Secondly, it helps maintain and manage the city’s streets by keeping them clean. Homeless persons are paid to collect trash and manage tent-side pickup across designated routes. GLITTER focuses on inclusion first, ensuring workers are treated as contributors, not just beneficiaries of aid.
Dignity, Purpose, and Paychecks
Workers earn $20 to $29 per hour under contracts supported by the City of Portland, Multnomah County, and private service districts. City officials say the program delivers strong results making it valuable. Despite government funding cuts to the city, officials say they will not cut funding to the program. For workers, the paycheck offers more than the much-needed financial benefits; it restores their dignity. As co-founder Barbra Weber explained, “This gives people joy. This gives people purpose.” For many, cleaning streets offers a first step back into society and stable living.
Measurable Impact on Housing and Stability
The GLITTER program has employed 55 members of the community. More than 95% of those members have lived without housing or are currently homeless, according to Ground Score’s website. Since starting the program, more than 70% have become permanently housed. The program also provides access to benefits for its employees such as healthcare, mental health services, addiction treatment, housing connections, and assistance with legal identification. The Oregonian reported that 59% of GLITTER workers saw a decrease in substance abuse, through city evaluations.
Inclusion Without Barriers
The driving mantra of GLITTER is radical inclusion. Those who would like to engage with the program can easily do so by visiting the organization’s warehouses, coordinating shifts, and beginning working as an independent contractor. Workers are not required to be sober in order to participate, though drugs and alcohol are prohibited while on the job. Worker George Hayes once struggled with substance use while on the program but eventually turned his life around, saying he now works “his tail off” in sobriety.
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Environmental Gains for the City
The program is not only transforming lives but also reshaping Portland’s environment. In 2022 alone, Ground Score crews removed 1 million pounds of trash. The following year, 691,706 pounds were cleared from city streets, preventing 85,000 pounds from heading to landfill. Their switch to new, environmentally friendly bagless collection methods aims to reduce waste even further. Ground Score also recycled more than 9.5 million bottles and cans in 2024.
Expanding Beyond Portland
Albuquerque now runs A Better Way Forward, building on Mayor Richard Berry-run program “There’s a Better Way.” Back in 2015, when the program was initially implemented, it provided over 6,000 jobs for the homeless. CABQ Health, Housing & Homelessness Director reinstituted “A Better Way Forward” with the set goal of providing employment and reducing the number of homeless persons.
In the early months of the COVID pandemic, the city of Seattle launched Co-LEAD, the predecessor to JustCARE. The purpose of Co-LEAD was to house and cater to vulnerable populations. Today, JustCare deploys outreach and hotel-based transitional housing, with numbers showing successful exits into permanent housing. Each initiative centers dignity, income, and coordinated care to improve neighborhoods and lives.
From Local Streets to Global Stage
Co-founder Barbara Weber and other members from the International Alliance of Waste Pickers collaborated to present recommendations for worker protections in the UN Plastics Treaty. For Weber, the fight for Portland streets connects directly to global campaigns for environmental justice and labor rights.
Imagining a World Beyond Poverty
Weber continues to dream of a future where both pollution and social inequities are erased. In her words, she dreams of a world that values “human life above profits,” with no poverty or racial discrimination holding people back. That vision is deeply tied to the core belief that endures in her work with Ground Score: that everyone deserves dignity, a chance to work, and the chance to reshape their circumstances.
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