How About It, Middletown? Shall we Pay Unhoused Individuals to Help Keep our City Clean?

What do you think? 
Shall we Pay Unhoused Individuals to
Help Keep Middletown Clean?

A certain city initiative (in Portland, Oregon) has taken a different approach to homelessness by paying unhoused individuals to clean streets and public spaces. 

Rather than focusing solely on emergency aid, the program offers structured work, income, and daily purpose, addressing both material and psychological needs.

Participants report increased self-worth and stability, while communities benefit from cleaner neighborhoods and stronger social connection.

Remarkably, around 70 percent of participants later transitioned into permanent housing, suggesting that opportunity can be as powerful as assistance.

This model reframes homelessness as a solvable human condition rather than a permanent label, showing how dignity, trust, and inclusion can restore momentum where survival alone once dominated. #fblifestyle  

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From Facebook Post: Saving Grace, Saving Tax Payers' Dollars, Keeping Neighborhoods & Streets Clean (alt. title).  Multiple comments for this post state that Portland, OR, is the city, as shown in local news & online.

A note from AI for younger readers who might not have read the pertinent chapter in their history books: 
During the Great Depression, WPA* workers built massive amounts of public infrastructure, including roads, bridges, schools, hospitals, parks, airports, post offices, and recreational facilities like swimming pools and playgrounds, while also employing artists, writers, and musicians on cultural projects. These labor-intensive projects created millions of jobs, constructing everything from city halls and dams to community centers and trails, leaving a lasting physical legacy still with us across the nation today.

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Also from AI: *WPA refers to the Works Progress Administration, a US New Deal agency during the Great Depression that employed millions of people to take part in public works jobs. WPA was a lifeline for some, and a path to a new life or a new career for others.