A Shower First. Everything Else Follows.

California Clean Slate Program

Our Guiding Core Slogan

"Street-Level Compassion. Life-Changing Direction."

California Clean Slate Program is a Santa Cruz nonprofit bringing mobile showers and hygiene services directly to unhoused neighbors, with a path toward recovery, stable housing, and steady work.

We are not affiliated with the court system and do not provide criminal record expungement, legal representation, legal advice, or record-clearing services.

Why We Exist

Built by the Community, For the Community

Recovery doesn't happen alone. It happens when neighbors, local businesses, and people in crisis are connected — often starting with something as simple as a hot shower and a clean set of clothes.

California Clean Slate Program is a mobile shower and hygiene service for unhoused people in Santa Cruz County.

We bring mobile shower and hygiene services directly to where unhoused people already are, meeting them with compassion and respect — no appointment, no paperwork required. Need immediate help or local county resources? Explore our verified Community Resource Directory.

From there, we help connect people to Substance Use Disorder (SUD) recovery support, sober living environments (SLEs), and job placement — while also helping reduce encampment waste along riverbeds and keep trash, plastics, and contaminants out of the protected Monterey Bay Sanctuary.

A hot shower and clean clothes offer something simple but real: dignity, and enough breathing room to consider what comes next. When people feel seen and supported, taking that first step toward treatment and stability becomes possible.

We are not part of the court system. We don't provide legal counsel, record expungement, or any record-clearing services — our work is entirely mobile hygiene, outreach, and stabilization support.

Our Program

Streets to Sheets: Our 5-Step Path

Click any step below to see how it works, in plain terms.

Step 01

Street Outreach & Hygiene

First contact: mobile showers, hygiene kits, and building trust.

Step 02

Mobile Service Units

Laundry, basic health screening, and case connection.

Step 03

Stabilization & Recovery

Substance use recovery support and navigation.

Step 04

Sober Living Environments

Placement into safe, structured sober living homes.

Step 05

Community Integration

Job placement and support toward permanent housing.

San Lorenzo River • Santa Cruz

Also Good for the Bay

Helping People and Protecting the Watershed, in the Same Visit

Many of the people we serve are living along the San Lorenzo River corridor and nearby waterways here in Santa Cruz. Our upcoming field deployments are focused on reaching unhoused individuals in these areas directly.

By bringing mobile hygiene units to these sites, we build trust that helps move people into our 5-step "Streets to Sheets" continuum of care. This outreach also serves as an upstream intervention: providing hygiene and stability alternatives right where people are living helps reduce waste, plastics, and debris before they can wash downstream into the Santa Cruz Harbor and the protected Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary.

Crisis Support & Peer Fellowship

The Frontline Fellowship

True stability requires immediate support when it matters most. Through our Frontline Fellowship, we provide emergency relief, crisis stabilization, and peer fellowship gatherings for local veterans and first responders navigating the transition back to civilian life. It’s a lifeline, a community, and a way to ensure those who served are never left behind.

Explore the Fellowship

Where Your Money Goes

We're New — Here's Exactly What Each Gift Funds

We'd rather be upfront about being a young organization than dress it up. Every gift below funds something specific and concrete, as we build toward a fleet of mobile hygiene units serving Santa Cruz County.

$30

Dignity Spark

One shower, six people

Fully covers a hot shower, clean clothes, and hygiene supplies for 6 individuals in crisis.

Give $30 Tax-Deductible Contribution

$50

Outreach Kit

10 hygiene kits

Provides 10 weather-resistant hygiene kits, packed with essentials and thermal clothing for our street outreach team to hand out.

Give $50 Tax-Deductible Contribution

$150

Field Day

One full morning, funded

Covers a full morning of mobile unit operations — generator power, fuel, and basic maintenance.

Give $150 Tax-Deductible Contribution

Fleet Fund

$500

Fleet Capital

Building our next trailer

Goes directly toward building our next mobile hygiene trailer — chassis, tankless water heating, and plumbing for a unit that costs roughly $60k to build.

Give $500 Tax-Deductible Contribution

Season Partner

$2,500

Corridor Partner

A season of river outreach

Funds a full season of river-corridor outreach routes — staffing, fuel, and equipment for sustained coverage.

Give $2,500 Tax-Deductible Contribution

California Clean Slate Program is a registered California non-profit corporation and a recognized 501(c)(3) public charity. All financial contributions are fully tax-deductible under IRC Section 170. We are not part of the court system and do not provide legal counsel, criminal record expungement, court representation, or legal record-clearing services.

We're Just Getting Started

We founded California Clean Slate Program in May 2026 because Santa Cruz needed a mobile hygiene service that meets people exactly where they are — on the streets and along the rivers where they're already living.

Your gift today helps us build our first mobile hygiene trailer and fund our earliest outreach shifts. As a brand-new organization, every early donor is foundational to what we become — and we'll share our budget, our numbers, and what we learn as we grow.

Become a Founding Donor