This time last year, predictions were dire for NYC. The COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken over 53,000 lives in the city alone, also unleashed an economic crisis as scores of businesses shuttered and unemployment reached the highest levels since the Great Depression. The financial hardship led to funding cuts to the Department of Sanitation, and soon, streets were overflowing with garbage.
NYC is now in the midst of an exciting recovery, but enormous challenges remain. In June 2021, the city’s unemployment rate was still above 10%—meaning over 400,000 people remain jobless. Waste tonnage is still up dramatically in many neighborhoods. And, as throughout the pandemic, communities of color have shouldered a disproportionate share of these hardships.
To address these challenges, the Mayor has launched an exciting new program: the City Cleanup Corps. Inspired by the New Deal, the City Cleanup Corps aims to hire 10,000 New Yorkers to provide supplemental sanitation and beautification services across all five boroughs. These efforts are focused on key areas identified by local communities and elected leaders, business districts, and the 33 neighborhoods hit hardest during the COVID-19 pandemic pinpointed by the City’s Task Force on Racial Equity and Inclusion.
The Mayor’s office wanted help ensuring this opportunity reached the marginalized populations most in need. And with over 30 years of experience doing just that, it’s no wonder why NYC tapped The Doe Fund to serve as an employment conduit for this ambitious initiative. To do so, we have developed the City’s official hiring pathways for the Corps and guided their citywide implementation.
Through this partnership, The Doe Fund is reaching more people than ever before—providing paid work for individuals experiencing homelessness, a platform for success, and an opportunity to enter the economic mainstream. For new trainees joining the program through the City Cleanup Corps, this work is the entry point to a first job, career employment, and a stepping stone to a better future. The partnership also allows marginalized communities to be directly involved in aiding New York’s recovery… and ensures that recovery is shared by all.
“I was ready for a fresh start, but I needed an opportunity,” said Richard Smith, a trainee in Ready, Willing & Able working on the City Cleanup Corps. “The Doe Fund gave me that opportunity, and the dignity of earning my own keep.”
“The Doe Fund is pleased to be recognized as a resource in helping New York City ‘build back better,’ while extending economic opportunity to people experiencing homelessness, incarceration and unemployment. An inclusive recovery means giving all New Yorkers the chance to enter the mainstream, something City Cleanup Corps facilitates and that The Doe Fund has been doing for over 30 years,” said Harriet Karr-McDonald, President of The Doe Fund.
If you or anyone you know are interested in being part of the City Cleanup Corps, visit doe.org/ccc for more information.