Grace Salanitro

Earlier this month, Mayor Jean Stothert proposed a new ‘Way to Work’ program that would essentially hire homeless people to clean up Omaha. In January 2017, there were an estimated 1,389 people on the streets between the Omaha and Council Bluffs metro area. About another 300 were understood to be “chronically homeless”, or in other words someone who has experienced homelessness for a year or longer. The Siena- Francis House, which houses a reasonable amount of Omaha’s homeless people, will initially oversee employing and screening the participants of the new program. Maj. Greg Thompson, commander of the Salvation Army’s Western Division, said “the screening process isn’t meant to keep people out but rather to prepare them for a job. For example, they may need help getting identification”. The program will employ six participants every 90 days, paying them each 10$ an hour to work in the city’s greenhouse, prepping flowers and plantings for city parks. When the employees aren’t working, they will receive benefits like counseling. Stothert said her ultimate goal is to end homelessness in Omaha, but that is a complicated task. ‘A Way to Work’ will run through September and a successful participant might end up with a part- or full-time job working for the city.