The mayor of Albuquerque saw a homeless man with a 'Will work' sign. It gave him a great idea.

[Omaha Steve]

http://www.upworthy.com/the-mayor-of-albuquerque-saw-a-homeless-man-with-a-will-work-sign-it-gave-him-a-great-idea?c=upw1&u=6bacec6889bf05ba106ae00be40328adccb1c8a6

The city of Albuquerque, New Mexico, used to ticket people for panhandling. Now they're trying something new — something that's got a lot of locals excited.


Participants in Albuquerque's "There's a Better Way" initiative working on a city beautification project. All photos provided by the city of Albuquerque, used with permission.

Two days a week, an employee of a local homeless services organization drives a van around the city and asks homeless people if they want to work for the day.


"If they say yes, they hop in the van. We've already got a lunch for them, ready to go," Will Cole, the van driver, told Upworthy.

FULL story at link.

[msongs]

1. gov't employee unions won't like this - then again they didn't do the work in the 1st place nt

[Brother Buzz]

3. California inmates (both county and state) won't like this

They are actually thrilled to have the opportunity to do the work.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

7. Union employees vote

Not sure about prison inmates in CA.

Who will the pols listen to?

[haele]

4. Budget gets cut, city services get cut, city workers got cut, no one to do the work.

Mom lives in Abq. There's a lot of city work - especially median and sidewalk maintenance - backlogged that's not going to be done any time soon due to lack of funding.
The organization that hires these guys, "Upworthy" gets funding from United Way and grants (State and Federal). So it's a different color of money, and it clears up some of the backlog of the less important, less physical work - median landscaping, sign repair, gutter cleaning - that sort of work.

While it isn't quite a "Win-Win" (because when there were city workers doing the work, they got paid more regularly and maintained households on those wages), the homeless who aren't "Travelers" get some pocket money and a meal, as well as a boost in the morale. Not quite enough to keep them off the street or out of the vehicle they're living in, but enough to keep them safe for a while. And perhaps, since the communities will start showing improvement, jobs might start improving and the homeless can start finding a way off the streets.

Haele

[Liberal_in_LA]

2. those who say "yes" to the job offer work five-and-a-half hour shifts for $9/hour.

[Warpy]

5. The carrot always works better than the stick

and Mayor Berry has been trying to work with them instead of against them. It's about time someone did.

[Generic Other]

6. In my city it is leaves clogging sewer drains

Same kind of thing should be offered. As it is, no one does the work. Like a modern WPA. Doesn't impact any current workers in any way. And look how it impacts the community. Nice.

[BlueJazz]

8. Great. 50 bucks plus a meal for less than 6 hours work means a lot to these people.

I wish it was maybe 35- 40 dollars plus a place to stay for the night but...