FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. — In four short months, the Community Assistance Teams’ (CATs) People at Work (P@W) initiative has removed over 3,500 cubic feet of litter from Flagstaff streets, employed dozens of unsheltered community members, and provided nearly 12,000 hours of community service. P@W is partially funded through the City of Flagstaff Sustainability Office’s Engage, Empower, Elevate (E3) grant program. E3 was developed in response to a two-fold challenge in Flagstaff; the record high number of persons that are unsheltered or at risk of being unsheltered and the ongoing challenge of keeping Flagstaff litter-free.
The Flagstaff Sustainability Office developed the E3 grant after a volunteer, who was unsheltered, shared with staff, “When I wear this volunteer vest, people see me. They say ‘hello’ and thank me for volunteering.” The grant program was created to provide an opportunity for unsheltered community members to earn minimum wage income while helping to remove litter from Flagstaff’s streets. In E3’s first year, the Sustainability Office secured additional funding from the Arizona Department of Housing to match the City’s $30,000, for a total of $60,000.
CATs received a competitive grant that provides $30,000 annually over five years. CATs operates a mobile outreach and shower bus distributing hygiene supplies, clothing, food, first aid, and free showers to unsheltered relatives on Flagstaff streets. “We use the term ‘unsheltered relatives’ when referring to unhoused individuals to acknowledge the Indigenous philosophy that we are all related,” said co-founder Darryl Marks.
CAT participants also develop essential job skills, reconnect with the community, and feel pride in their work. One participant says the program “…not only gives me feelings of pride and a valid place in Flagstaff’s community, the CATs’ team also made me more aware of the footprints that I am leaving on the Earth.”