North Raleigh Today

On Tuesday, the Raleigh City Council approved a $487,500 contract with The Great Raleigh Cleanup (TGRC) to continue a pilot program called “The Workforce – The Great Raleigh Cleanup and City of Raleigh Beautification Program.” The initiative employs people experiencing homelessness to clean up the city's parks, waterways, and roadsides.

The pilot phase received positive feedback from participants and collaborators. During this phase, the program employed 18 residents who worked a total of 400 hours at a living-wage rate of $18 per hour, amounting to $7,200 in wages. Participants removed 7,670 pounds of litter and returned 74 shopping carts. They reported that the program provided valuable support, including daily essentials and supplies, temporary housing, job experience, access to other support programs requiring proof-of-income reporting, and a sense of pride and accomplishment.

Raleigh-based TGRC’s mission is to ensure litter-free neighborhoods through community engagement in beautification projects. In addition to earning a living wage, program participants receive meals at A Place at the Table, Raleigh’s first pay-what-you-can café supporting food-insecure community members.

This program supports the implementation of the City's Community Climate Action Plan (CCAP), which focuses on high-impact climate action strategies such as addressing equity, building community resilience, encouraging community empowerment, and fostering environmental stewardship—key facets of the Workforce program.

Fourteen city departments collaborated with TGRC to fund and design the program. This included cooperation between the Sustainability department and Housing and Neighborhoods department to develop supportive communications and outreach for people experiencing homelessness.

The City is committed to supporting programs that help community members access affordable housing. While the Workforce program does not directly provide housing for people experiencing homelessness, it aims to build closer relationships with them by connecting them to vital resources, building work experience for future opportunities, and providing funds for day-to-day needs. Additionally, the program will partner with the City's Housing & Neighborhoods Department to connect participants to permanent housing resources.

For more information on programs and services for residents experiencing homelessness.

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