MILWAUKEE — Take a drive through Milwaukee and you'll see that litter is more visible than ever.
The lack of snow is highlighting the mess and one neighborhood is paying well — if you can help pick it all up.
The Havenwoods neighborhood stretches from Silver Spring to Good Hope Road and they're offering $16 an hour if you're willing to clean up the streets.
It's part-time work that can pay off in more ways than one.
Looking at a trash-covered curb, you might see a mess. But Kyle McCreedy sees an opportunity to improve his city. Just a few months ago he was burnt out on teaching and ready to take his career in a different direction, so he joined the Street Keepers as the team lead. "It's very different and I definitely still feel very strongly about education," admitted McCreedy. "I will maybe someday return, but in the meantime, I'm getting a lot of time outside, and a lot of exercise — I'm able to do very visible good."
And there is a lot to clean up. One example is at the edge of Havenwoods State Forest where the Street Keepers often find illegal dumping.
"This hat actually was something I found," laughed McCreedy, pointing at his head. "I took it home and washed it!"
Among the trash, he found a bit of treasure. But the real prize is that this is designed to be a jobs training program for people who are eager to build their resumes.
"Although we'd love to see it full-time at some point, it is part-time Monday through Thursday," explained Katlin Hahn, with the Havenwoods Neighborhood Partnership. "So that kind of leaves Fridays open for flexibility for people — whether they're job searching or working on appointments or anything like that."
Funding comes from Business Improvement District 31 and professional development is part of the workload with workshops on topics like financial literacy and interview skills.
"We have had people that have earned their high school equivalency, which is fantastic," added Hahn. "We've seen some people gain certifications that allow them to move into full-time work that comes with benefits. And those are the successes that we're really proud to see."
Already this year the Street Keepers crew has cleaned up 200 bags of trash. If you want information on applying to join the team contact Katlin Hahn via email at katlin@havenwoods.org. Hahn says they put an emphasis on hiring people who live in the Havenwoods neighborhood.
It’s about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for “TMJ4” on your device.
Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.
