On Tuesday, Raleigh City Council approved the continuation of a pilot program called “The Workforce – The Great Raleigh Cleanup and City of Raleigh Beautification Program.” It’s focused on beautification projects that provide opportunities and support for people experiencing homelessness. The program is a collaboration between the City and The Great Raleigh Cleanup nonprofit, with support from A Place at the Table café.
The City is collaborating with the Great Raleigh Cleanup (TGRC) to employ people experiencing homelessness to beautify City locations such as parks, waterways, and roadsides. The pilot phase of this program received positive feedback from participants and collaborators.
During the pilot, the program employed 18 residents, who worked a total of 400 hours at a living-wage rate of $18/hour ($7,200 in wages). Participants removed 7,670 pounds of litter and returned 74 shopping carts. They said the program provided valuable support for them, including the ability to get daily essentials and supplies, temporary housing, job experience, the ability to access other support programs that required reporting proof-of-income, and a sense of pride and accomplishment.
Raleigh-based TGRC’s mission is to embrace the power of community to ensure litter-free neighborhoods for all. It supports environmental stewardship through organized beautification projects and related events. In addition to earning a living wage, program participants receive a meal at A Place at the Table, Raleigh’s first pay-what-you-can café, which supports community members who are food insecure.
Contributing to Broader Climate Action and Housing Goals
This program supports the implementation of the City's Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP). CCAP focuses on high-impact climate action strategies including:
- Addressing equity
- Building community resilience
- Encouraging community empowerment
- Fostering environmental stewardship
These are also main facets of the Workforce program.
Fourteen City departments collaborated with TGRC to fund and design the program. The work included collaboration between the Sustainability department and Housing and Neighborhoods to develop communications and outreach that’s supportive of people experiencing homelessness and the resources they need.
The City is dedicated to supporting programs that assist community members with resources that help them access affordable housing. This includes providing support for people experiencing homelessness. While the Workforce program doesn’t provide housing to people experiencing homelessness directly, it’s an important step in building closer relationships and trust with them, helping them connect to vital and immediate resources, building work experience for future opportunities, and providing a way to earn funds for day-to-day needs. In addition, the program will work in partnership with the City's Housing & Neighborhoods Department to connect people to permanent housing resources.
View more information on programs and services for residents experiencing homelessness.
