LA City Council introduces motion to hire homeless for litter cleanup

Los Angeles City Council members have introduced a motion to hire homeless individuals in the city as part of a crew that cleans up trash and litter in public spaces, a report by the Los Angeles Daily News says. Council members Joe Buscaino, Bob Blumenfield and Nury Martinez from the Harbor Area and San Fernando Valley say they receive an average of 200 complaints per day about litter.

The members say the city can contract with what they call “social justice organizations” to create a pilot program. The organizations would conduct outreach programs to recruit people who are homeless or labeled as difficult to employ to do the cleanup.

According to the report, a similar program is already in place for graffiti cleanup and neighborhood councils in Northridge already have a program called Clean Streets Clean Starts that offers grocery store gift cards and meals to homeless individuals in exchange for their part in community cleanups.

Local groups and other neighborhood councils in San Fernando Valley have already expressed interest in implementing similar programs, the report says.