Syracuse and Onondaga County are teaming up on a joint effort to offer work experience to the community’s homeless population. The pilot program “Hire Ground Workforce Development” is aimed at the estimated 40 panhandlers and others living outside.
Mayor Ben Walsh said this initiative is going to do more than give the homeless jobs.
“Provide them with access to resources that they need whether they’re dealing with mental health issues, whether they’re dealing with substance abuse. It’s that combination of helping to lift them up by giving them access to opportunity but at the same time access to the services they need to break down some of those barriers,” Walsh said.
The $200,000 cost of the program will come from the county budget. The request for proposal seeks a non-profit or private sector partner to arrange transportation for up to eight individuals per day to take to city or county worksites three days per week. County Executive Ryan McMahon and Mayor Walsh said locations can include downtown shops.
“I think they’ll need to be some direct engagement with the downtown businesses as well to really try to get them to be active participants. I know City Hall has been helping facilitate a lot of that,” McMahon said.
Walsh says this initiative is a way the private sector can be proactive about homelessness.
“The public funding of this program helps us get started, but I think ultimately it will be the private sector and private funding that will sustain it. As the county executive said, it is often time the same businesses that we are hearing from that are complaining about panhandling or intimidation of their customers. I think, in many ways, they’ve been looking to be part of the solution, they just haven’t been quite sure how to get there."
Walsh said the short-term work opportunity is a way to have a deeper, more meaningful engagement with those who might benefit from the experience and perhaps other services. The pilot program is expected to start sometime this spring, and is modeled on successful efforts in Albuquerque and San Antonio. The deadline to submit a proposal is January 11th.
