By Fiona Ng for LAist
Originally published on Feb. 14, 2026
Angelenos show up for the city in different ways. And a growing group of them is showing up — gloved and masked with gigantic trash bags in tow — to sweep up litter-strewn streets.
One of them is Carlos Cabrera, who’s lived in the same South Central neighborhood his whole life; the 35-year-old lives about a mile from where he grew up. Compared to back then, Cabrera said the neighborhood now feels safer, but different concerns have risen up.
“When I was growing up, one of the biggest concerns that parents had, especially my mom, was walking around the area, because of gang activity and violence,” Cabrera said.
Residents, he said, are now having to navigate around encampments that have sprung up in the community.
“ It’s changed, it is a little bit messier,” Cabrera said.
Doing it for ourselves
Cabrera started to clean trash off the streets last summer, prompted by an unlikely catalyst: a new puppy.
“The puppy has so much energy. It was circling my neighborhoods. The dog would get in the trash, he would try to eat junk, grooming became an issue,” he said. ”So to save me the headache of grooming them, I just ended up picking up the trash.”
He started around his neighborhood, then extended to his girlfriend’s. Soon, residents started to request his service. And soon after that, people started asking to join — both folks in the community and those who learned about South Central Clean Up through Cabrera’s social media videos.
It wasn’t until October that Cabrera took on volunteers.
”There’s always like needles, glass, like stuff where people can actually get hurt. So that’s also sometimes why I’m cautious about inviting volunteers,” he said. “But I figured out a way around it.”
All volunteers are required to use trash pickers — no direct contact to avoid injuries. The volunteer clean ups are on weekends. On weekdays, Cabrera goes solo, sometimes as much as two to three times a week, while holding down a full-time job working in payroll.
The reason is simple.
“ I am born and raised there,” he said. “Ultimately my love for my community, especially my neighborhood, is what encourages me. I want more people to stay in South Central as opposed to just wanting to move out.”
Other DIY neighborhood clean up groups
San Fernando Valley
- Volunteers Cleaning Communities
Find next event here
Little Tokyo
- Little Tokyo Community Cleanups
Find next event here
East L.A.
- East LA Trash Walkers
Find next event here
L.A. city (various locations)
- OneLAClean
Find next event here
Long Beach
- Info on various volunteer groups here
This report is reprinted with permission from Southern California Public Radio. © 2026 Southern California Public Radio. All rights reserved.