City In Arkansas Pays Homeless People $9.25/Hr To Pick Up Litter

Nov 06, 2019 by apost team

Authorities in Little Rock, Arkansas have come up with an innovative program to help homeless who are willing to work to restore their lives. The program provides employment to homeless people in Arkansas and compensates them at a reasonable hourly wage of $9.25 per hour for picking up trash. 

It might not be a glamorous job, but for some people who are in desperate situations, it is a relief to get this opportunity and to start receiving a paycheck again. The work program for the homeless actually solves two problems in the city: littering and homelessness. The program began in April 2019, and it's called "Bridge to Work." 

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For Mario Sexton, the program offered him a second chance in life. He told the Arkansas Democrat Gazette that he had been panhandling for survival until he heard about the job opportunity. He went to Little Rock without any identification that would usually be needed to apply for regular employment, but this program enabled him to earn some income.

 "As a man, a young man, you feel a little bit better about yourself if you can work and get some money," Sexton said to the publication. 

People who want to work in the program go to a designated location where they are picked up by a city van and transported to work sites. There have been over 400 people enrolled in the program so far. The program has room for 8 workers per day. When there aren't enough volunteers, city program representatives reach out to panhandlers to offer them an opportunity to participate.

The program has been successful in helping create a bridge from destitution to self-sufficiency, and it has had a noticeable effect on cleaning up the city. Over 130 areas around the city have been cleared of trash, and over 2,000 bags of trash have been removed in total according to THV11 News. 

Would you like to see a program like this in your city? Let us know in the comments, and send this to your friends so they can get involved in the discussion.