Freestyle advocates for river access

Human Access Project (HAP) is a grassroots advocacy group catalyzing cultural change around how people feel about and interact with the Willamette River in Portland. HAP was conceived in 2010 by Executive Director/Ringleader Willie Levenson, who, in his own words, wanted to swim in the Willamette River and got a little carried away. Since then, HAP has worked to shift public perception of the river—from an unsafe water body to a beloved public space and natural treasure to be enjoyed and protected. Through advocacy, riverside development, and creative activations and programming, HAP helps people feel welcome, safe, and excited to “get into their river.”

MISSION Transform Portland’s relationship with the Willamette River.

VISION A city in love with its river.

PATH OF OBJECTIVES

1. Build it – create a human habitat and more accessibility points to the Willamette River in Portland.

2. Use it – inspire people to connect with the Willamette River and embrace it.

3. Love it – facilitate conservation, education, and stewardship of the Willamette River and Watershed.

4. Sustain it - as Jacques Cousteau said so well, "People protect what they love".

TARGET AUDIENCE People for whom the Willamette River is their closest natural body of water and who live within five miles of the Willamette River.