Since Thrive2Survive took over management of Vancouver’s Safe Park in late 2023, the nonprofit’s founder Charles Hanset Jr. has been looking for ways to connect residents there with the rest of the neighborhood.
This summer, staff and resident volunteers launched Trash-Smashers, a cleanup crew dedicated to removing garbage from the neighborhood.
Road2Home Safe Park is located at the former Evergreen Transit Center, 1504 N.E. 138th Ave. It has provided about 50 free and legal parking spots for residents living in vehicles since 2020.
So far, five Safe Park residents are involved in the volunteer crew.
“This is a way for them to show pride in where they live and in their community,” Hanset said.
TrashSmashers follows in the footsteps of Talkin’ Trash, a similar street garbage-collection program from Vancouver nonprofit Share. Talkin’ Trash workers are paid.
Thrive2Survive’s trash program is volunteer, but Hanset said staff are exploring incentives for active members of the crew, such as gift cards.
“The goal is that other people will see the work the crew is doing and jump on in and start doing it, too,” Hanset said.
While the cleanup effort is still in its early stages, Hanset sees this as a positive way for Safe Park residents to leave their mark on the neighborhood.
“They’re beautiful humans in the crew. They have aspirations, dreams and plans and want to invest in their community,” Hanset said. “This is a way for us to say, ‘We’re here, we’re human and we care.’”
