The North Shore Business Improvement Association is set to unveil the results produced by its ‘Clean Team’ program on Wednesday, as it pushes to have the program permanently funded.
The ‘Clean Team’ is made up of folks who come out of supportive housing or rehab programs, who go around collecting items left behind by those on the streets.
“We’ve picked up somewhere in the neighborhood of 1,100 foils, 100-and-change pipe hats, a few hundred needles, 3,000 pounds of garbage,” said North Shore Business Improvement Association Executive Director Jeremy Heighton on the NL Noon Report on Tuesday.
Launched in October, the ‘Clean Team’ was built on a partnership among the North Shore BIA, the Open Door Group, ASK Wellness, the Canadian Mental Health Association and the City of Kamloops.
Currently funded through grant programs until the end of March, Heighton suggests they hope to use their examples of success to try to prove to the BC government and other agencies that the program should be permanently staffed and funded.
“The goal is to build the team into an 8 to 12-person team that really does serve our community well, but also has the opportunity to get their lives back on track and create a productivity for themselves that gives them pride and sense of worth,” said Heighton. “One of the value-points of this program is we are providing employment to individuals who may otherwise be finding it very difficult to have any kind of gainful employment.”
City of Kamloops staff have suggested there are also discussions underway to see what the City can do to keep the ‘Clean Team’ program operational past April 1st.
Launched specifically for the North Shore, the ‘Clean Team’ has also recently begun operating in downtown Kamloops on behalf of the Kamloops Central Business Improvement Association.