Street Sweep

How It Began

First Baptist Church here in Waco came to us with a problem: trash. The tourism boom brought lots of it to their parking lots and surrounding areas. The easiest solution was to pay a company to clean it up, right?

Instead, they reached out to us with an idea – what if we paid our participants staying in our homeless shelter to clean up their property and downtown? Thus, the Street Sweep Employment Program was born. We pay our employees a livable wage as they work towards self-sufficiency.

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Street Sweep Case Study

By The Numbers

Employees

0.04

Hours

$0.64

Dollars

0.5

Pounds

0.37%

Of Total Weight

0.83

Trash Bags

Acres

Mission Statement

Ever since 2020, Street Sweep has served homeless individuals reentering the workforce. Our goal is to empower participants to have a renewed sense of self-determination and worth with a focus on employment, housing, and finances, through professional training and holistic case management.

“I was determined to get my kids back and become safe and secure in my life, both for myself and them. Street Sweep was a catalyst to put me on a path of improvement and break out of the struggles and patterns I was facing.”

– Natasha

“I enjoy the work and it’s easy to do. They are also teaching me how to build relationships and showing me the resources that are out there to help me get a job. I like having a coach to help me figure all of this out. “

– Carl

“Street Sweep worked with me on setting short-term and long-term goals. Now that I have achieved my short-term goals of getting a car and a house, I am working on getting skills to find work outside of Waco.”

– David

“I liked being part of a group of people. It gave me a chance to build positive relationships in my life, I have stayed connected with Meyer Center staff and the people at the shelter. Also, the mental health services helped me to find happiness and peace in my life.”

– Raymond

“I enjoy the work, helping to clean up the community. It makes me feel like I am part of the community.”

– Cory