The city of Albuquerque in conjunction with the St. Martin Hospitality Center launched a program earlier this year to help the homeless find employment for a day. The initiative sends a city van out on Tuesday and Thursday mornings to engage in the homeless to see it they want to work on various projects.
The program provides $9 per hour to those who work on the projects such as weed and litter control, city beautification, and landfill work. The Albuquerque Journal also reports that rather than just hand out money, the pilot program is a hopeful way to assist panhandlers working their way off the streets. “St. Martins also has an employment program that will be used to help these individuals find longer-term employment,” says the Rev. Rusty Smith who is also the executive director of St. Martin’s.
“While we’re doing that, we’re going to engage them, and try to get them connected with services. So an individual may decide to come to work for that day,” Berry explained in the news conference. “And while they’re there, there’ll be people who will help counsel them. And at the end of the day, they’ll go back to St. Martin’s Hospitality Center, and if they need shelter, we’ve automatically connected them. If they need help with substance abuse or mental health issues, we’re automatically connecting them to those services.”
The pilot program is an offshoot to “There’s a Better Way” campaign where the city has signs posted at intersections directing panhandlers to a shelter for assistance.
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