Diamond Heard raked leaves Friday morning and helped beautify Georgia Avenue in Atlantic City.
It’s currently a temporary job for Heard that earns him money, but more importantly, he said, the work gives him hope.
“Since two or three weeks ago I had no job prospects whatsoever, and I started to feel a bit dull and down,” Heard said.
The 51-year-old told CBS News Philadelphia that he recently had a health crisis, and with no savings in the bank, he was falling on hard times.
“So my rent fell behind and I ended up on the street,” he said.
Heard is one of 10 people experiencing homelessness who are now part of the Hope Work Initiative, which launched this week.
Participants are paid $75 per day to clean the streets, boardwalk and city hall. The mayor said the money comes from the city’s opioid settlement funds and hopes to expand the program.
“We’re giving people opportunities,” Mayor Marty Small said. “Sometimes people need a second, third and fourth chance at life.”
Earlier this year, several fires started under the boardwalk near homeless encampments, and the number of homeless people in the city has risen. Officials said the new program was born not only in response, but also to improve people’s daily lives.
“We just wanted to give an opportunity to those who are less fortunate and have been down on their luck. We are all just a few paychecks away from being in the same situation,” said Jarrod Barnes, Atlantic City’s Director of Health and Human Services.
The city said the temporary workers will work three days a week and will be offered case management and resources to help with housing, medical care and other needs.
Heard calls the program wonderful and says he is now looking forward to it.
“Staying active, staying in the mode of getting up to go to work, staying clean and being happy, that makes me feel good,” Heard said.
The program will last 10 weeks. Ultimately, officials said the city will consider hiring the participants full-time.
Ryan Hughes
