Fort Worth pays homeless to help clean up city's streets
The city of Fort Worth has been trying out a new way to get homeless people back on their feet, while cleaning up the city at the same time. So far, it's working.
A program called Clean Slate, which is funded by the city and run by the Presbyterian Night Shelter, pays the area's homeless to collect trash, reports KXAS-TV (NBC5).
"It's a win-win," the shelter's CEO Toby Owen told the station. "We want a clean neighborhood that speaks hope, that speaks dignity to our homeless guests. And it also provides income for these individuals so they can move out and be successful without living in a homeless shelter."
A recent Tarrant County Homeless Coalition report lists unemployment as the top reason why people in the county became homeless in 2016. The Clean Slate program is tackling that by offering the homeless paying jobs that come along with paid vacation days and benefits.
Read more: https://www.dallasnews.com/news/fort-worth/2018/01/27/fort-worth-pays-homeless-help-clean-citys-streets