This Portland collective keeps the city clean — and helps unhoused people find stability

This Portland collective keeps the city clean — and helps unhoused people find stability

On a Thursday morning in Portland’s Old Town neighborhood, two dozen people mill around a warehouse, waiting for the results of a lottery. At 7:45 sharp, a woman sitting in an interior office calls out three numbers in quick succession. She repeats the last one a few times before someone finally comes forward. “234?” she says into the crowd. “Who’s 234?”  Chris Parker is 234. He is tall and thin and wears Garneau cycling gloves and a baseball ca…