FAYETTEVILLE -- The Pick Me Up program means more than picking up trash or getting picked up for work, according to organizers and its unsheltered participants. It means serving as part of a community and affirming one's own self-worth, they say.
The city in partnership with Genesis Church started a six-month pilot program this summer to pay residents experiencing homelessness to clean up trail routes and homeless campsites. Mayor Lioneld Jordan approved in June using $30,781 from the recycling and trash fund to pay for the program.
Participants in the program are paid $12 per hour, and one supervisor is paid $17 per hour. The city provides equipment such as trash grabbers, buckets, trash bags, safety vests, gloves and recycle bins. The city also pays for lunches and fuel to take participants to job sites and has a recycling and trash division employee use a truck to pick up bags.
The city reimburses Genesis Church for the expenses and also pays the church a $2,000 per month administration fee. Genesis has a representative overseeing the program. Genesis is responsible for the administration of the program, such as providing a bus to take participants to work sites, doling out lunch, letting participants shower after jobs and providing information about services to help end a person's homelessness.
So far the program has had 115 participants who have picked up more than 34,000 pounds of trash, according to the city's data.
Putting in work
Crews of five go out every Monday, Wednesday and Friday and work for about four hours, said Heather Ellzey, the city's environmental educator, who has been working with the groups. Names are drawn every morning at 7 Hills Homeless Center. There are usually about 30 people every day who enter their names in the pool, she said.
The groups typically have focused on areas in the south part of town where unsheltered residents convene and along trails. Groups also have gone out to areas near Crossover Road and Mission Boulevard.
Ellzey shared photos and provided an overview of the project Oct. 17 to the city's Environmental Action Committee, a resident-led panel that advises the City Council. The teams work at a rapid clip, such as when a group pulled out 1,500 pounds of trash from beneath Town Branch bridge in about 45 minutes, she said.
"I've worked with a lot of volunteers on a lot of projects. It's amazing the difference a team can make," Ellzey told the committee. "I cannot explain, these teams of five I take out there, not only what they're willing to go into, what they're willing to do, but how hard they work every single moment we're out there. The pride that comes from it is contagious."
Another group of five was back out at Town Branch bridge Wednesday. The trash returned, although not as much as had been there previously, group members said.
The team picked up everything from cans, wrappers and food containers to an ottoman and a broken chainsaw. Raenee Blevins was eager to get to work, crawling into brush areas under the bridge and filling up a bag within minutes.
"I want to pick up as much trash as possible," she said.
Blevins had help. Her dog, Freckleface, a small terrier mix, sniffed around and picked up objects. The pair routinely make a habit of picking up trash as they walk around the south part of town.
Blevins said she made some bad choices in her life, resulting in her homelessness. That dog saved her life when she found him on a riverbank, she said.
Elaine Ramirez filled up bags with trash she found behind Mountain Man Supplies and Pawn. Originally hailing from Ventura, Calif., she said she made her way to Fayetteville from St. Louis to live with a friend. The arrangement didn't work out, and Ramirez found herself homeless, she said.
Seeing all of the trash outside saddened her, Ramirez said. Many of the objects were clothes or shoes, items that probably came from pantries available at Genesis, LifeSource, 7 Hills and other organizations, she said.
"It kind of sucks that people just don't put any thought into it when they're throwing trash," Ramirez said.
Wednesday marked the second time Ramirez had gone out with the group. The work helps build a sense of camaraderie among the faces she sees at service organizations, she said.
"I'm happy to be here," Ramirez said.
Ramirez said she's working on getting an ID and a job to save up money and get back on her feet. She has skills, working previously at Amazon, as a medical biller, a receptionist, doing hard labor and other jobs, she said.
Picking people up
The common stereotype people assign to unsheltered residents is they're lazy and looking for handouts, said Scott Murr, director of Micah Hope and Student Ministries at Genesis Church. The stereotype is flat-out wrong, he said.
"You hear all kinds of stuff. 'I don't know why don't just get a job,' or 'I don't know why they don't just work,'" Murr said. "It's not that they don't want to. It's that they've got insurmountable boundaries, even if it's just in their own minds.
"If everything is piled up against me and has to be dealt with by me and I don't have any support, that's too much," he said.
It may seem insignificant, but getting out with a group and putting in work for a few hours that makes a difference goes a long way in affirming someone's self value, Murr said.
He knows what he's talking about. Murr had a career, a wife and family, but addiction landed him on other people's couches and he found himself without a home. Murr said a relationship with Christ and community involvement saved him.
The direct impact of the Pick Me Up program may be litter abatement, but program organizers also hope it will help lead people out of homelessness, Murr said.
"The name has so much more meaning than just pick me up, talking about trash or pick me up for work," he said. "We're picking people up and saying, 'We see you and you matter.' That's really the intention of it."
Ellzey said she plans to ask the City Council during a presentation Thursday for additional money to get more participants on board and make the program an annual occurrence. The program is set to end by December.
Raenee Blevins ((CQ)) fills a bag with trash Wednesday Nov. 2, 2022 under a bridge in south Fayetteville. The city partnered with Genesis Church to start the Pick Me Up pilot program in which unsheltered residents are paid to clean up campsites in South Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/221102Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)
Charlie Birchfield cleans up a homeless camp Wednesday Nov. 2, 2022 under a bridge in south Fayetteville. The city partnered with Genesis Church to start the Pick Me Up pilot program in which unsheltered residents are paid to clean up campsites in South Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/221102Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)
People who want to work on the clean up crew put their names in for a drawing Wednesday Nov. 2, 2022 at 7 Hills Homeless Center in south Fayetteville. Five names are drawn randomly. The city partnered with Genesis Church to start the Pick Me Up pilot program in which unsheltered residents are paid to clean up campsites in South Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/221102Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)
Heather Ellzey, Fayetteville environmental educator, (left) organizes her crew from 7 Hills Homeless Center Wednesday Nov. 2, 2022 before heading out to clean up encampments in south Fayetteville. The city partnered with Genesis Church to start the Pick Me Up pilot program in which unsheltered residents are paid to clean up campsites in South Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/221102Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)
Elaine Ramirez picks up trash Wednesday Nov. 2, 2022 in south Fayetteville. The city partnered with Genesis Church to start the Pick Me Up pilot program in which unsheltered residents are paid to clean up campsites in South Fayetteville. Visit nwaonline.com/221102Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/J.T. Wampler)More News
NoneWhat they say
Heather Ellzey, Fayetteville’s environmental educator, said the following about what officials have found out about the reasons that lead residents to homelessness in the city:
• “Lack of access to affordable housing, mental illness, and addiction are the biggest barriers to employment that we’ve seen from our discussions with participants.
• “Other issues include lack of access to transportation, education/job training, and also lost/missing IDs.
• “The program has been a great opportunity to connect with individuals and hear what is standing in their way of securing employment, and in those cases of education, job training and lost/missing IDs, we’ve been able to make connections and start the process of overcoming some of those roadblocks.”
Source: NWA Democrat-Gazette