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Hot Springs to hire five people experiencing homelessness for litter-abatement pilot
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Summary
The city announced a pilot litter-abatement program to hire five unhoused residents for eight weeks of work, providing temporary housing and savings-matching supports intended to help participants transition to stable housing.
City Manager Bill Burrow outlined a pilot litter-abatement program the city has launched in partnership with the Friends of the Community Resource Center to employ people experiencing homelessness in cleanup and workforce-readiness activities.
"This program will be for five unhoused individuals from the community," Burrow said, adding that participants will be hired to work four days a week for eight weeks and will be provided temporary housing so they can focus on saving and preparing for next steps. He described an incentive structure: "For this duration, if the individuals can save $350, the PATH program will match that to the Watchtower behavioral health and wellness," providing a bridge to services and stabilization.
Burrow said participants will spend time at the CRC to prepare for employment opportunities and to develop tools for long-term self-sufficiency, with the goal of assisting each participant to transition into an apartment that meets their budget at program completion. The program will rotate additional cohorts in after each group finishes.
Board members did not take formal action on the program at the meeting; the city manager presented it as a new initiative being implemented under existing program partnerships.
