Innovative Listening House Program Cleaning Up Businesses and Public Spaces in St. Paul
St Paul nonprofit sees the unhoused not as a costly burden but as an asset able to help the community
Listening House’s new Work Now program, launched early in 2024, has quickly built a reputation as an innovative, cost-effective solution for keeping St. Paul’s parks, businesses, and public spaces trash-free and tidy. Purple-vested crews head out several times a week looking for messes to de-mess.
At a time when many cities are struggling to find successful pathways out of homelessness for citizens priced out of the housing market, Listening House and the city, along with Ramsey County and the Saint Paul American Rescue Plan Acts Fund, built a unique partnership to provide job opportunities to unhoused individuals in Ramsey County.
“We saw it as an incredible opportunity,” explains Molly Jalma, Listening House’s executive director. “We knew that many of our guests were responsible, hard workers who just needed an opportunity to take that first step to get their lives moving in a positive direction. Meanwhile, the city had a need for good workers who could help out. It just made sense.”
Beyond helping to create a cleaner, trash-free community, the program is also providing remarkable benefits to the individuals involved.
“The Work Now program creates an avenue for people struggling with homelessness to find a sense of purpose while they get back on their feet,” explains Jonas Grace “(Jal”), one of Work Now’s hard-working members.
Olaf Minge, a resident of St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood, has become a huge advocate of the program, and agrees with Jal’s assessment. He had been doing some clean-up on his own, until one day crossing paths with a purple-vested Work Now crew. He was immediately interested in getting involved.
“Not only have I gotten to know the workers very well at a personal level, but it's a great opportunity for them to rally together around a project. And sharing team lead responsibilities from week to week between them has given several of them an opportunity to put their own flare on the day.”
He's also a fan of the end result of the Work Now crew’s efforts. “Cleaner neighborhoods!” he remarks. “It's amazing to walk around the streets after the crew has come around and see the difference they’ve made. And, it is slowly having a positive impact on anyone else who may have littered before but now doesn’t ... seeing that others care and are working to clean up.”
Read more about Listening House’s Work Now program
Photo credits: Olaf Minge
See a few results of the Work Now crews efforts below:
