Oregon has the fourth-largest population of unhoused persons in the United States with an estimated 350 per 100,000 people (more than double the national average of 168 per 100,000).

Hermanson’s Oregon team (with assistance from UA Local 290 Plumbers & Pipefitters) collated 250 care packages to distribute in face-to-face interactions at freeway offramps, street corners, and tent encampments in the Portland and Beaverton area.

“Offering a bag filled with hygiene, snack, and cold weather items with a smile and kind word Is a small gesture that offers a bit of humanity to those who are often overlooked,” says Hermanson Project Manager, Elena Townsend, “I know the experience impacted the recipient as well as the giver.”