Doe Fund Hopes to Expand Beyond Street Cleaning into New High Demand Fields

When Christopher Brown first lost his job, a complete loss of income put him out on the street along with a record number of other New Yorkers homeless during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the Ready, Willing & Able program through The Doe Fund that got him back on his feet. Now, he believes he can soon turn his life around.

The program helps break the cycles of homelessness, unemployment and recidivism. The average NYC unemployment rate rose to 13.2 percent in 2020 from 3.6 percent in 2019. Ready, Willing & Able provides transitional work opportunities so men like Brown can commit to their own success.

“When you’re working, you get to build character,” Brown said. “When you’re homeless and you’re not working, you feel like you have nothing to live for.”

For 30 years, Doe has provided economic opportunity for the homeless and formerly incarcerated men of NYC. Districts like East Midtown have used these trainees, dubbed the Men in Blue, for their cleaning services since 2002.

“Hundreds of people have taken control of their lives, reunited with their families,” said Rob Byrnes, president of the East Midtown Partnership. “We’re happy to have a little piece of that.”

East Midtown was the first business improvement district to partner with Doe, and has built a community that has welcomed, rather than disregarded its transitional workers. Brown said the people of East Midtown are “very friendly” and make him feel like he belongs.

“Total strangers come up to me and say, ‘Thank you,’ and ‘Good morning,’” he said. “I’m more thankful to them than they are to me because they’re helping me get back on my feet.”

Christopher Luggiero, the vice president of communications at The Doe Fund, said he hears a lot of trainees say they’re used to being treated like they’re “invisible.” This partnership, he said, allows for those experiencing homelessness “to be seen and respected, and be treated with the dignity that they deserve.”

“You hear about people crossing the street to avoid you, not making eye contact,” Luggiero said. “All these folks around this neighborhood, who maybe have a preconceived notion about what homelessness is...[have] the opportunity to see people like Christopher face to face and see just how diligent and responsible and good they are.”

Matt Bauer, who runs the partnership along Madison Avenue, said the cleaning crew comes in every day: seven days a week, 365 days a year. Responsibilities range from removing graffiti, picking up dog waste and street sweeping.

“It’s a terrific organization that is making a difference for New Yorkers in need,” he said.

Currently, President Brynes said the project is “working to broaden the skillset” of the trainees beyond street cleaning, employing programs in covetous fields like pest extermination, culinary arts and green services.

“There really isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ idea of who’s experiencing homelessness,” Luggiero said. “The ultimate goal is not to train folks to be street cleaners, it’s to help them start earning an income again.”

Doe has a 75% graduation rate, and hundreds have utilized the program to exit with steady jobs and living wages, Byrnes said. Additionally, over 40 percent of Doe’s staff — including 70 percent of the Programs team—are graduates of Ready, Willing & Able.

Brown said he hopes to take full advantage of all Doe can offer him. He plans to take the test for his commercial driver’s license to continue his pre-Covid career as a teamster.

“I know I can’t live off of anyone. I have to do it for myself,” he said. “I have to get out here, work hard, do a good job. And that’s the way it’s gonna happen.”