Mayor Walsh celebrates new partnership between main streets organizations and project place

Mayor Martin J. Walsh today celebrated the formation of a new partnership between Project Place's Clean Corners/Bright Hopes program, Washington Gateway Main Street and the Chinatown Main Street as part of an ongoing effort to improve neighborhoods in the City through targeted investments in beautification, public safety and enhanced homeless and addiction recovery services.

"Clean Corners/Bright Hopes is a proven partnership that works for our neighborhoods, and I am excited to announce that this expansion will reach new corners of our City," said Mayor Walsh. "This is more than a Clean Streets initiative. It is work and job training for those who need a chance, and it exemplifies how when we all come together, we can make Boston shine. I'm looking forward to seeing the results of this partnership that provides opportunities to those who need it most."

As part of the partnership, Clean Corners crews will maintain both sides of Washington Street from Herald Street to Melnea Cass Boulevard, as well as portions of Essex, Kingston, Edinboro, Hudson, Kneeland, Harrison, Tyler, Beach, Oxford and Knapp streets in Chinatown. Services include routine outdoor cleaning such as picking up and bagging trash along sidewalks and gutters; removing posters from light poles; caring for planters and cleaning the city's "Big Belly" trash containers.

"We're very excited about our partnership with the city of Boston. Clean Corners is our oldest social enterprise program, and we have long worked with the city. But we're exceedingly proud of the city's continued confidence in our clients, who perform valuable work while learning on-the-job training to obtain mainstream employment," said Suzanne Kenney, Executive Director of Project Place. "This partnership with the city of Boston is one of the vital supports for Clean Corners, which is a great option for urban communities that want to keep their neighborhoods and business districts clean."

"Chinatown Main Street  has a 12 year history of working together in this program," said Courtney Ho, Executive Director of Chinatown Main Streets. "I am  happy to see that another Main Street  district  is working on the collaboration."

Clean Corners is an economic development initiative created in response to the challenges involved with assisting people who are homeless achieve self-sufficiency. In addition to job training, Clean Corners employees have access to support services that help them maintain a professional work schedule. They are paid hourly, wear uniforms and are a highly visible, highly trained positive presence in the neighborhoods they serve. When they graduate from Clean Corners, the program participants have skills that transfer directly to a variety of industries, including custodial services, facilities maintenance, waste management and landscaping.

Today's announcement builds on the City's partnership with Project Place. In December, Mayor Walsh announced a partnership between the City, Boston University and Project Place  to clean the neighborhoods around the Melnea Cass Boulevard and Massachusetts Avenue intersection.

About Project Place

Founded in 1967, Project Place has provided hope and opportunity to homeless and low-income individuals in the Greater Boston Area for 48 years. The nonprofit is a supportive community that provides the education and resources needed to obtain stable employment and housing. The agency manages social enterprises (small businesses with a social mission) that offer employment opportunities and job training programs, career services, transitional and permanent housing, and case management support to help those experiencing homelessness reestablish themselves in society with dignity. For more information on these and other programs, visit projectplace.org; follow us on Twitter at @Project_Place and on Instagram at @ProjectPlaceBoston; or "like" us on Facebook.