WARREN, Ohio – A group of young city residents spends a couple of hours four days a week cleaning up areas of the 6th Ward, earning money and learning job skills.
Councilwoman Honeya Price started the group, called the Sixth Ward Trash Busters.
“I needed help to clean the 6th Ward,” she said.
She started last year with two kids, paying them herself to pick up trash, clear weeds and improve the appearance of the neighborhood.
But Price wanted to make a bigger impact.
“I thought, well, hey, if we can do something on a bigger scale, then this would be good to keep the kids [off] the street and help the city keep the neighborhood clean and also teach the kids,” the councilwoman said. “This is pride, taking pride in your neighborhood.”
And she sees them taking pride in their work. “I heard a couple saying, ‘We just cleaned up and people are throwing stuff,’ so it’s teaching them how to keep your areas clean.”
This year, 15 youth are participating, working about two hours each day with financial support from the Raymond John Wean Foundation and the Warren Development Association, equipment from the city and volunteers and mentors from the community. Do Cut of Warren gave the group a 24% discount on equipment.
Thursday morning’s work was along Nevada Avenue, in front of the West Warren Industrial Park. The project is being developed by Sapientia Ventures LLC. Its managing partners, Chuck George and Wiley Runnestrand, stopped by and thanked the students and volunteers.
George said the city’s resurgence will take a community effort, and the youth are part of it.
“Our goal is to have jobs for you guys when you’re old enough for a job …,” he said. “Thank you for helping us. If there’s anything we can do for you, let us know.”
Sapientia Ventures owns The Business Journal.
Price has a waiting list of young people who want to be Trash Busters. Older teens also help with mowing lawns in the neighborhood.
“The goal is to give these kids an opportunity,” said Holly Taylor of the Warren Development Association, a community development nonprofit organization. “Our goal is to get these kids employed. We want them to have a marketable skill. We want them at the age of 12 to be able to go out and mow a lawn if they want to and get money for it.”
The aim is to make Trash Busters a year-round program, providing leaf and snow removal and other services. But Price and Taylor said they need more companies and organizations to contribute and more volunteers and mentors. Anyone who is interested in donating or volunteering can call Price at 330 937 0456.
Organizers also use the cleanup days to educate the young workers about financial literacy, entrepreneurship and related topics. Volunteer speakers attend to share their knowledge. Thursday’s speaker was Matt Martin, executive director of Trumbull Neighborhood Partnership, which is the fiscal agent for Trash Busters.
Next week, a representative from Paige & Byrnes Insurance will talk to the students about how to start a program, such as Trash Busters. Paige & Byrnes is owned by the Taylor family, which formed the Warren Development Association.
Mayor Doug Franklin called the Trash Busters program priceless.
“Anytime you can engage our young people, who oftentimes have their own challenges – to get them to come out here a few times a week and give their time, for me, it speaks to the spirit of community that exists right here,” he said.
It also speaks to the leadership of Price and the Taylor family, the mayor said.
“This is their vision,” he said. “This is something they put together. I have the easy job of just thanking them and being a supporter and a cheerleader. But this means a lot.”
It’s bigger than cleaning up the community. It’s young people setting an example for their younger siblings about how to engage in citizenship in a positive way, Franklin added. He encourages other businesses and organizations to contribute to sustain the program.
“And at the end of the day … it’s also a workforce development program,” Franklin said. “I’ve told them they’re preparing themselves, even if they want to have a summer job with the city or employment with the city. Some of these kids are approaching 18. We have a lot of city employees who are transitioning out because they’re at retirement age. We’re going to need these young people to step up and be employed, continue to get paid for continuing to contribute to their community.”
Taylor said the program also teaches the young workers how to work with adults, make eye contact and other soft skills.
Major Dorsey, 13, said he got involved in the program because he wanted to help the community.
“It is fun,” he said. “It’s making a lot of memories with my brothers.”
Dominique Dorsey, 14, said he also wanted to help the community, have fun and make some money.
“We’re picking up trash, weed whacking, basically cleaning up the sidewalks so people can walk on it,” he said.
Dominique is impressed with how fast he and his co-workers have worked.
“We’ve only been doing this for three weeks and we’ve already cleaned up this whole street,” he said. “It makes me feel pretty good because we work fast.”
Trey’vonn Artez Breckenridge, 16, and Charles “Hunter” Winkle, 17, said Trash Busters is helping them meet new people and make new connections.
“This is just side money, and it’s helping out my community that I live in,” Trey’vonn said. “I’m proud of everybody because it looks different. It looks cleaner.”
It shows younger people that they don’t have to be out in the streets. They can help the streets instead, he added.
Hunter said he loves doing work for the community.
Darrell Allen is one of Trash Busters’ volunteers, a 6th Ward resident and a mentor to the young workers.
“I’ve been through some things in my life and changed my lifestyle, so if I could do it, I encourage them to do it,” he said. “I allow these boys to see me through the city cutting” grass and weeds. “They see me and they say, ‘Oh, wow, Mr. Darrell could cut, so I could do it too.’”
Pictured at top: Warren Mayor Doug Franklin, at left; Chuck George, managing partner of Sapientia Ventures, third from left; Councilwoman Honeya Price, second from right; and students and volunteers pose Thursday after the Sixth Ward Trash Busters cleaned up Nevada Avenue.