STOCKTON, Calif. — Quorell Jackson, 33, uses a claw tool to lift trash off the ground and into an orange garbage bag. He says some people think picking up trash is a bad thing, but he disagrees.
The formerly homeless man spent six months living homeless on the streets right around the corner from where he was working near Church and Harrison Streets in Stockton, California.
He now gets paid to pick up trash through a non-profit called Ready to Work. The program has helped dozens of men in San Joaquin County out of homelessness.
“It feels good to fight back,” Jackson said. "Anyone can litter, who all would volunteer to pick it up.”
Ready to Work offers self-help classes, housing, and jobs to men who were previously homeless. The program aims to help its clients into permanent jobs and housing of their own.
Jon Mendelson is the executive director of the program. He says people want to work and provide for themselves but, sometimes, they just need hope.
“If you provide them stability, the sense that there are opportunities, that there are caring people that can help them, [then] they’ll do a lot to help themselves,” Mendelson said.
In 2019, the program helped 52 men transition into permanent housing and jobs of their own. More than 900 people are living homeless on the streets of Stockton, according to the most recent homeless population count.
The program is funded through private donations, sponsorships, and work contracts with the City of Stockton and CalTrans.
STAY UP TO DATE ON EVERYTHING HAPPENING IN STOCKTON BY DOWNLOADING THE ABC10 APP:
►Stay In the Know! Sign up now for ABC10's Daily Blend Newsletter