City Pays Homeless People $9.25 An Hour To Pick Up Trash

• Arkansas’ Little Rock City has a successful program called Bridge to Work.
• The program pays homeless to pick up street litter.
• Each participant earns $9.25 per hour.
• Mayor Frank Scott Jr has said that the program will run until September 2020.

Talk about hitting two birds with one stone! Little Rock, Arkansas recently gained a lot of positive attention online because of a unique initiative that helps homeless people and deals with the city’s trash problem at the same time.

The city’s Bridge to Work program started last April and the goal was to give homeless individuals an opportunity to earn by picking up litter on the streets.

Little Rock pays homeless people to pick up trash for $9.25 per hour.

It is, of course, worth-noting that the amount is $2 higher than the federal minimum wage – which is $7.25.

On top of the salary, they also get to avail of mental and physical health services, along with career coaching and temporary housing. So yes, aside from having cleaner streets, the target is to actually aid the unfortunate in turning their lives around.

Originally, the program was supposed to run for just 6 months.

However, it’s success has prompted Mayor Frank Scott Jr to push for an extension that’s why he wants it to last until September 2020.

So far, the city has spent a total of $80,000 on the said program, which is being run by the Canvas Community Church.

In an interview, Pastor Paul Atkins shared:

“We’re super excited about what has gone on, and we hope to be able to keep the momentum going.”

So farm over 2,000 bags of trash have been collected since the program began.

Naturally, social media netizens have been all praises about Bridge to Work.

One commenter said:

“Good job, Little Rock! Hope other cities in the country learn from your example.”

Another wrote:

“This is what happens when a city truly cares for its homeless. They’re given the opportunity to improve their lives and be self-reliant!”

Watch the video report here: