New York City has tapped the Doe Fund to expand a program that puts formerly homeless and jailed New Yorkers to work cleaning streets and getting rid of graffiti.
The NYC Economic Development Corporation’s (NYCEDC) “Quality of Life” program will hire another 20 to 25 people, on top of the 86 already at work on efforts like power-washing sidewalks in commercial areas and scrubbing graffiti off properties.
“We are very proud to expand our Quality of Life program with a new partnership with The Doe Fund,” said NYCEDC President Maria Torres-Springer. “Through this program which provides New Yorkers with an opportunity to both improve our city and rebuild their own lives, we are continuing to make strides toward our goal of a more fair, equitable and vibrant New York City.”
NYCEDC issued an RFP for this contract in March 2016. The Doe Fund responded to the RFP’s criteria to provide expansive social services for the employees, such as career development, educational services and occupational training.
All individuals employed through NYCEDC’s QOL program will benefit from Mayor de Blasio’s commitment to increasing the minimum living wage to $15/hour for City government workers and employees who provide contracted work, which was announced earlier this year. The Doe Fund’s contract takes effect in October 2016. Employees currently contracted through NYCEDC’s QOL program will have the option to transfer their employment to The Doe Fund at the same wage rate with comprehensive benefits.
The Doe Fund’s mission is to develop and implement cost-effective, holistic programs that meet the needs of a diverse population working to break the cycles of homelessness, addiction, and criminal recidivism.
All of The Doe Fund’s programs and innovative business ventures ultimately strive to help homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals achieve permanent self-sufficiency.
They pursue their mission through a series of award-winning programs which collectively serve more than 1,000 individuals every day:
Ready, Willing & Able – Our flagship offering provides homeless and formerly incarcerated individuals with transitional work and housing, case management, life skills, educational assistance, occupational training, job readiness, and graduate services
Veterans Program – A specialized program which offers homeless veterans transitional work and housing, counseling and benefits advocacy, life skills, educational assistance, occupational training, job readiness, and graduate services
Affordable housing – For low-income individuals and families
Supportive housing – For individuals and families with a variety of complex challenges such as chronic homelessness, substance use, mental illness, HIV/AIDS, and chronic unemployment