San Jose is launching a new effort to clean up dirty parts of town, and it’ll help dozens of homeless people get back on their feet at the same time. Starting in November, San Jose will pay more than 25 homeless residents at least $15 an hour to pick up trash at more than 40 “hotspots” around the city. “We are working to transform lives,” Mayor Sam Liccardo said during a press conference at Downtown Streets Team’s San Jose office Thursday morning to announce the new program.
The organization, which works to end homelessness, and Goodwill will hire and manage the workers. Normandin Chrysler Jeep Dodge Ram offered steep discounts on two trucks to support the effort. The ultimate goal is to help participants transition into full-time employment. The litter hotspots identified stretch across the city, from Senter Road near Capitol Expressway to Willow Street under Highway 87 and Mabury Road near Interstate 680.
One of the hotspots that crews will patrol is around the Tully ballfields on Tully Road near Galveston Avenue, where Little League families have complained recently about an increasingly unsafe environment. A number of homeless people live near Coyote Creek, which runs alongside the ballfields, and the area is often strewn with litter. Jonathan Fleming, president of the nearby Senter Monterey Neighborhood Association, said he’s “extremely excited” about the new program.
Fleming, who proposed a similar idea earlier this year as part of an unsuccessful bid for a seat on the City Council, said he thinks the program will give participants a sense of purpose. And he’s hopeful workers who clear debris from the area can talk with residents of the nearby encampments and encourage them to help keep the area clean by gathering their trash together rather than allowing it to litter the ground. “I’m very optimistic and hopeful that it will help,” Fleming said.
In addition to helping beautify San Jose and giving the city’s homeless residents an opportunity to work, Liccardo said the program is an effort to “change the narrative.” Too often, people see trash on roadsides or creek embankments and place blame solely on homeless people, the mayor said, when “the fact is, it comes from many sources.”