How ‘Clean LA with Me’ is Transforming Los Angeles City Streets

Before most of Los Angeles wakes up, Juan Naula is already on the move with his broom in hand, trash bag at his side, and he's working his way down litter-strewn sidewalks of LA. What began as a one-man mission has evolved into Clean LA with Me, a nonprofit that organizes weekly neighborhood cleanups across the city. Videos of Juan picking up trash have gone viral and garnered local attention from the media and people who want to support his efforts.

Naula says he started cleaning 10 months ago because the city wouldn’t. He has picked up more than 1,500 bags of trash so far and built trash receptacles to place in high-trash areas. Naula says he uses donations from strangers to buy his supplies.

“If the mayor and the governor aren't doing it, we have to do it,” he told KFI."California and LA is such a beautiful place. It's so sad that it's so trashy."

From picking up tossed coffee cups to scraping away goop, Naula’s persistence has inspired neighbors to trade complaints for work gloves. Sometimes he uses a broom, and sometimes it's a rake, but the sound of sweeping has become the soundtrack of a movement that’s turning trash into teamwork and street grit into hope.

Clean LA with Me now holds weekly meet-ups in neighborhoods across L.A., proving that real change doesn’t always come from City Hall. Sometimes, it starts with one person willing to show up.