Harris County renews Employ to Empower program that pays unhoused residents to work in precinct parks

Harris County commissioners on Oct. 16 approved the renewal of the Employ to Empower program, an interdepartmental effort that places people who are experiencing homelessness into paid, low-barrier work with precinct maintenance and parks divisions.

Speakers at the meeting — including Sgt. Theodore Perez of the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and Nkechi Agwenu, CEO of Career & Recovery Resources — described the program’s operation and outcomes. The program, launched as a 2021 pilot with ARPA funding and later moved into the general fund, pays participants $15 an hour for 32 hours per week, provides soft-skills classes, tools training, ID and birth certificate restoration, and connects participants to housing and employment services.

Sgt. Perez told commissioners the program operates with deputy liaisons in each precinct and a worksite supervisor model; the program employs four deputies and two case managers in its current staffing mix. Career & Recovery Resources said the program’s cap is 42 participants at a time and has served hundreds of people since inception; the CEO said it has placed participants into permanent jobs and saved the county an estimated $200,000 in services.

Commissioners praised the program and discussed opportunities to expand funding, noting other county departments have expressed interest in partnering. The court approved the contract renewal without recorded objection.

Ending: County staff were asked to coordinate with precincts and partners to track outcomes and identify additional funding sources to expand capacity.